Montrose Basin attracts tens of thousands of pink-footed geese every year, with numbers sometimes peaking at over 80,000 in Autumn. Now that we’re into the Winter season, many of these geese have headed further south in the UK, but over 10,000 are still roosting on the Basin every night. But occasionally (like right now!), other – rarer – species can be seen on the Basin, hanging around with the thousands of pinkies.

At the visitor centre when we’re telling people about “the geese”, we’re often asked “which geese?”. And our reply is invariably pink-footed geese; the goose species that the reserve is internationally important for. So it’s always exciting when we can include other species in our ‘latest goose count’ updates to visitors. Our current goose numbers are (as of this week): 8500 pink-footed geese, and…3 barnacle geese, 1 snow goose, 1 bar-headed goose, and even a leucistic pink-footed goose! Read on to learn more about each of these different species that are unusual to see at Montrose Basin.

Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens)

On 29 November, a snow goose was spotted roosting on the mudflats with the pink-footed geese. It’s been seen most days since, usually in the morning before it takes off for the day. It’s also been seen feeding in fields near the Basin, again with other pink-footed geese.

Geese are very social birds, and their instinct is to stick with other geese, even if the only geese around them happen to be a completely different species.

The snow goose we’re seeing at the moment is a white-morph snow goose, so it’s completely white with black wing tips. This makes it really easy to pick out! See how quickly you can spot it in the photos below, taken in the past week.

Snow geese are a mostly North American species, with some breeding in Greenland. It’s possible that this one got swept up in all the excitement of the pink-footed goose migration.

Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus)

The bar-headed goose is arguably even more out-of-place than the snow goose. It’s an Asian species, only present in the UK due to escapees from captivity. They hold the record for the goose that can fly at the highest altitude, with wild populations migrating over the Himalayas at 20,000ft to reach their breeding grounds.

The bar-headed goose here is clearly not wanting to test its abilities to reach high altitudes, as it was spotted very much at sea level, walking on the mudflats of the Basin with the population of pink-footed geese.

Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis)

Barnacle geese are seen most years on the reserve, but in much smaller numbers compared to the pink-footed geese. They typically stick to the west coast of the UK on their migration from their breeding grounds in Svalbard and Greenland. Large numbers (around 20,000) build up on the Solway Firth, but a few arrive in the UK via a different route, especially if there has been stormy weather.

Barnacle geese are black and white with distinctive white faces.

Leucistic Pink-footed Goose

And finally, the leucistic pink-footed goose. Leucism is when an animal is missing some of its pigment. This is different to albinism, which is total lack of pigment. Leucistic birds can appear slightly paler, completely white, or will sometimes have completely white patches of feathers.

A leucistic pink-footed goose has been seen on the reserve most years since 2020, and in 2021 it was even seen on our Online Goose Watch! Perhaps it’s the same individual returning every year – the patterning certainly looks to be the same. Confusingly, one was reported this week around the same time as the snow goose was being sighted regularly. So if you see a white goose amongst the pink-footed geese, take a minute to check which one it is!

The visitor centre is open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, 10:30am-4pm. If you’re lucky, you may see these rare geese through our telescopes, but to give yourself the best chance, go for a walk on the reserve at Tayock around sunrise. The ranger has worked out that the snow goose’s preferred ‘take-off time’ seems to be about 8:45am.

Joanna Peaker

Visitor Centre Site Manager