Satellite monitoring of greylag geese captured in Norway and Spain

Within the framework of the national programme on greylag goose coordinated by the ONCFS at the request of the Ministry of Environment ( MEDDTL), one of the aims is to improve our knowledge on the origin of birds in migratory transit and wintering in France and to study their movements between their Nordic breeding areas (Norway, Sweden in particular) and Spain, a country representing the southern limit of the wintering range of north-west Europe’s population (cf. article published in the Goose Bulletin n°13, November 2011).
 To that end, in collaboration with several European scientists, a monitoring of several individuals with GPS beacons financed by the National Hunters’ Federation (FNC) coupled with the marking of birds with neck-bands has been initiated in 2010 and 2011 in Norway (west and south coast) in the summer period and in 2011 in Spain (Donana National Park) in the winter period.
This satellite monitoring should help achieve a better understanding of the birds’ migratory behaviour, notably their movements from their Norwegian breeding areas to their Spanish wintering areas, as well as their local movements within the Donana National Park between their night-time roosts and their daytime feeding grounds.

The first results obtained from birds equipped in Norway show movements through Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands, with a migratory behaviour that varies widely from one individual to another.

In Spain, resights of birds with neck-bands were made during the mission of November 2011 and several individuals have been fitted with GPS beacons and black coloured neck-bands.

 

                            V. Schricke                                                  M. Boos
                            ONCFS                                                       Naturaconst@

e-mail : v.schricke@oncfs.gouv.fr                     e-mail : m.boos_naturaconst@aliceads1.fr