The first pink-footed geese are arriving in small numbers at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Montrose Basin Wildlife Reserve in Angus.

These early birds are part of a mass-migration of hundreds of thousands of geese which migrate from Greenland and Iceland to Britain each winter. Numbers are expected to swell over the coming weeks.

The pink-footed geese rest at the Basin on their way to wetlands in the south of England. They flock together in large numbers overnight and during the day disperse to nearby farmland in search of food. In October 2016 a record estimate of 90,000 pink footed geese was made by the Trust.

Anna Cowie, Montrose Basin Ranger, Scottish Wildlife Trust said: “The geese are making an early start to migration this year, possibly as a result of favourable northerly winds over the weekend. I’ve heard from the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust that some birds have already made it as far south as Norfolk.

“The growing cacophony of pink-footed geese brings the Basin to life each autumn. Their early arrival means we may not see the large peak numbers that have been previously recorded, but we are still expecting them to put on a spectacle at dawn and dusk.”

Support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery is enabling the Trust’s Montrose Basin Visitor Centre to offer extended opening hours on a number of dates this autumn to give people the chance to see the geese gathered at dawn and dusk. Spaces are limited, and booking is essential.

Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery said: “The pink-footed geese at Montrose Basin are an incredible sight. I’m so pleased that our players’ support is helping the Scottish Wildlife Trust to share this spectacle with the public this autumn. Being able to see and learn about sights like this connects us all to the natural world and helps us to understand the astonishing ways it works.”

Montrose Basin Wildlife Reserve is an internationally important wetland covering more than 1,000 hectares. The largest inland salt water basin in the UK, it is an important wintering site for a wide range of birds, including pink-footed and greylag geese, redshank, eider, oystercatcher, knot, wigeon and mute swan.