Greylag wearing neck collar. (1 Viewer)

[Gill Osborne]

Yesterday afternoon - Wednesday 24th - at approx 4.30pm Neil and I decided to drop in to Druridge Bay Country Park on the Northumberland coast. I'd heard reports of a drake Garganey at the water sports jetty so we went down that way ( plus Neil wanted to see 'his' Moorhens ). As we approached the jetty part I noticed a Greylag in with a few Canadas which appeared to have an orange collar on it! I thought I must have imagined it as I didn't get another look until about half an hour later.
We always have a bit of grain in the boot of the car so were feeding the birds when I noticed the Greylag again and it DID have an orange collar on it!!! This collar clearly had BVJ written on it. The goose also had a standard silver ring on it's leg and a wire sticking up over it's back! As it preened itself in front of us it seemed to be trying to 'dislodge' a battery ( or something like that which the wire was attached to). I couldn't tell or see if this was attached to the bird by a harness that went around it but it did not seem to be affecting it's ability to fly etc.
Just wondered if anybody knows anything about this goose which is obviously being monitored by somebody - any societies, groups? It's the first time I've ever seen a bird carrying a what I assume is a tracking device. It would be really interesting to hear anything about where this bird has come from, who's observing it's behaviour etc etc - even just some advice as to who i should inform in case somebody somewhere is waiting for reports of sightings to come in.

There were no other Greylags that I could see - just the usual Mallard, Mute Swans, Canada Geese, BHG, Moorhen & Coot.

 

[saluki]

Yesterday afternoon - Wednesday 24th - at approx 4.30pm Neil and I decided to drop in to Druridge Bay Country Park on the Northumberland coast. I'd heard reports of a drake Garganey at the water sports jetty so we went down that way ( plus Neil wanted to see 'his' Moorhens ). As we approached the jetty part I noticed a Greylag in with a few Canadas which appeared to have an orange collar on it! I thought I must have imagined it as I didn't get another look until about half an hour later.
We always have a bit of grain in the boot of the car so were feeding the birds when I noticed the Greylag again and it DID have an orange collar on it!!! This collar clearly had BVJ written on it. The goose also had a standard silver ring on it's leg and a wire sticking up over it's back! As it preened itself in front of us it seemed to be trying to 'dislodge' a battery ( or something like that which the wire was attached to). I couldn't tell or see if this was attached to the bird by a harness that went around it but it did not seem to be affecting it's ability to fly etc.
Just wondered if anybody knows anything about this goose which is obviously being monitored by somebody - any societies, groups? It's the first time I've ever seen a bird carrying a what I assume is a tracking device. It would be really interesting to hear anything about where this bird has come from, who's observing it's behaviour etc etc - even just some advice as to who i should inform in case somebody somewhere is waiting for reports of sightings to come in.

There were no other Greylags that I could see - just the usual Mallard, Mute Swans, Canada Geese, BHG, Moorhen & Coot.

Hi Gill,

There's a form for reporting them on here Gill (click on the neck collar pic at the bottom):

www.ring.ac

saluki

 

[Gill Osborne]

Cheers Saluki :t:

That's a really handy site - think I'll stick it in my 'Favourites' and write the web address in my diary as Neil has a habit of wiping the Favourites clear every now and then when he's faffing about with my laptop!

 

[mudman]

I saw a similiar greylag goose whilst conducting a count of moulting geese last summer in East Park, Hull. The goose had the orange neck collar BUL and a radio transmitter between the shoulders. I was told that the goose was captured at Tophill Low bird reserve as part of a DEFRA project. In among all the greylags and canada's was a first year Lesser Whitefront. Strange what can turn up in an urban park.

 

[Mark Grantham]

Hi Gill

This bird is part of a project looking at the local movements of feral geese, and is being carried out by the Central Science Laboratory. The collars are unique to identify the bird, so thorugh field sightings from birders they can get an idea of how far these birds are moving to feed. The wire you saw was from a radio transmitter, which is attached using a rucksack-type of harness. This allows CSL researchers to accurately follow exactly where these birds are moving to withough having to read the colars every time. The study has revealed some fascinating results, and these flocks are much more mobile than we might think. I'll forward your posting on to the leader of the project, and they shoudl get back to you with some details for this bird.

As already mentioned, any other sightings or records of ringed or colour-ringed birds can be reported via www.ring.ac which was set up by the BTO in partnership with other European ringing schemes.

Mark Grantham
BTO Ringing Unit

 

[Phil Prosser]

Hi all

I'm leading the team that marked these two birds, so I'm the man to tell you all about it.

We're working for the Central Science Laboratory (an agency of Defra). The customers for this particular project are another part of Defra, the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD to its friends).

The greylags are part of a larger, long-term project in which we've marked and radio-tagged lots of individuals of a range of bird and mammal species in arable farmland. The aim is to measure precisely how much of their time individuals spend in those parts of the arable landscape where they're likely to be exposed to agricultural pesticides. PSD can then use this data in their work of assessing the risk from these pesticides to wildlife. The upshot of all this is that PSD can better balance the need for adequate pest control, leading to a cheap, safe and reliable food supply with the need for a healthy and sustainable environment.

A number of researchers have been fitting collars to geese for some years, including the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Highland Ringing Group and East Dales Ringing Group. The visibility of the collars makes it possible to use re-sightings to investigate the movements of individuals from site to site, and to follow migration.

We're interested in more detailed information and time budgets for individuals, hence the radio-tags. We experimented with VHF radio tags and discovered (the hard way) that the range of a greylag far exceeds the radio range of any VHF tag it can carry. So the tags you've seen in Hull and at Druridge Bay are GPS/ARGOS satellite tags from Microwave Telemetry . These are solar-powered, carried on the birds' backs on a ruck-sack type harness, weigh about 80g (negligible for a goose), and incorporate a small VHF transmitter as well.

The tags have a GPS reciever on board which finds the goose's location every two hours, around the clock, every day. This data is logged on board until, every third day, the tag contacts the ARGOS satellite network and uploads the data via them to ARGOS's computers. We log in via the 'net, download our data and plot it out. Indoor radio-tracking - really rather civilised!

With this data, we can see exactly where each goose has been every two hours for as long as the tag remains on the goose, and this time budget can be used to inform PSD's risk assessments for pesticides used on crops likely to be visited by geese.

This should show you BUL's movements and this BVJ's. (These are links, but don't show up as such in my browser until I wave my mouse over them).

BUL was caught at Tophill Low on 7th April 2005. He stayed around that area until moulting time, when he elected to moult at East Park in Hull. Besides dropping feathers, he also dropped the satellite tag - in the Park Lake! Anser geese are notoriously rough on radio tags, and despite them being beefed up specially, they do a pretty good job of destroying them eventually. They also manage to bite through harnesses, and this is what BUL managed to do. I dredged the tag up a month or so later from the sludge on the lake bottom, with the help of that VHF transmitter, which told me where to look, and of a rake and a pair of waders. (The tag is now on another bird caught near Ripon).

BVJ was caught just east of the main lake at East Chevington, Druridge Bay on 9th May this year, and has been pretty unadventurous so far. Greylags really start moving around when they've finished breeding, so we'll see what happens then.

I hope that's answered a few questions, but feel free to ask more if you have 'em.

Phil Prosser
Wildlife Ecotoxicology
Central Science Laboratory, York

 

[Woodchatshrike]

I saw a similiar greylag goose whilst conducting a count of moulting geese last summer in East Park, Hull. The goose had the orange neck collar BUL and a radio transmitter between the shoulders. I was told that the goose was captured at Tophill Low bird reserve as part of a DEFRA project. In among all the greylags and canada's was a first year Lesser Whitefront. Strange what can turn up in an urban park.

A radio tagged bird ended up at Loch Leven last summer on its way up to moulting grounds in the Highlands.

 

[Marmot]

Thanks very much for that Phil and by the way, Welcome to Birdforum.



I take it this is very similar to the Geese that were shown getting fitted with them in Ireland on Springwatch at the begining of the week. I found it really interesting.

Looks like the need stronger "knicker elastic" to hold the rucksacks on with.

 

[London Birder]

interesting stuff Phil ... what's the furthest recovery so far?

 

[Phil Prosser]

We caught BUI on 24th March 2005 near Ripon race couse. He was an adult male and he got BTO ring number 5175683 as well as his orange collar and a satellite tag.

He stayed around Ripon race course and the river there, probably attempting to breed but, judging from his subsequent movements, failing. He was last observed (by satellite) at Ripon on 26 May. We then got fixes at Bolton-on-Swale, and various other places on his way north until he reached the Firth of Forth, which he followed westwards for a while, finally arriving at Loch Leven on 2 June. The last fix we got at Loch Leven was on 2 July, after which the tag stopped sending fixes, indicating that it had probably come off the bird and stopped functioning. (It could be in the water, or it could be on dry land but not getting enough light to recharge its batteries).

Here's a map with this on (this is a link).

As far as we know, BUI didn't go any further north than Loch Leven, but if you know different, please let me know!

We do know that he was seen at Branton Gravel Pits in Northumberland in August and September 2005, and that he was back in Ripon in January and February this year; we don't have any more recent sightings.

So it seems as if he abandoned his attempt to breed and decided to go to Loch Leven to moult. This seems perverse, as there are plenty of traditional moulting sites in Yorkshire, but there you go. You never can tell with geese (as Winnie the Pooh might have said).

So, BUI is our furthest satellite observation to date. Most birds stay within 50km or so of their capture site and are fairly habitual in their movements, with big changes in site choice occurring in spring and mid-to late summer.

We aren't using knicker elastic, by the way. When we applied for licensing, we were encouraged to use a newer harness design using woven Teflon ribbon harness. Teflon is very tough (and very expensive), but soft and slippery, so it shouldn't damage birds' skin. We're finding, though, that greylags are very destructive of their harnesses and Teflon's not tough enough. We've tried replacing key parts of the harness with nylon webbing, and now we're using Teflon re-inforced with Kevlar/polyester, all supplied by a US manufacturer who supplies webbing for military applications among other things...

By the way, if you see an orange-collared greylag and you want to report it, please do! You can do this by going to www.ring.ac and filling in the details there. If you're really keen, please phone our goose "hotline" (actually it's a voicemail box) on 01904 462750 (why not put this in your mobile?).
If you report to us, we'll get to hear about it more quickly, and we promise to pass your data on to the BTO/WWT.

A mate has just told me that another of our birds, ALL, has been seen recently in Fife (thanks Tim!). So please don't assume that collared birds you see are local - some are, but we know that some of them aren't. We're using those highly visible collars because we want you to see them and report them, so please do report them. Every little helps!

 

[Woodchatshrike]

Nearly 500 greylags moulting at Loch Leven this summer. It might be there somewhere.

 

[christineredgate]

Very interesting.Thanks Gill for the original post.We have large groups of Greylag and Canada,so will be observing more closely.Did not realise the extent of their wanderings.We have a Snow Goose who mixes in with the Greylags,but then disappears for weeks .It would be interesting to know where he goes ,but he always returns to his adopted group.

 

[mudman]

This is really excellent information. I do have an interest in the re-established greylag population and I conduct a survey every year, during the moult, of 20+ sites in East Yorkshire. A great many greylags are non breeders but those that do nest are very successful in rearing their goslings to fledging. If it was not for quite intensive egg pricking at some locations then the population would be expanding almost exponentially. Hornsea mere generally has 500-600 greylags for the moult and similarily East park 350-400.

BUL is currently back on East Park, Hull, for the moult.

 

[Gill Osborne]

Wow!!! So much information. Thank you SO much Phil and everybody else involved. :t:

I haven't had a chance to get back along to Druridge Bay for a few weeks due to work and then house hunting in Cumbria ( I may be a neighbour of yours soon Christine! ) but I'm off for the next week so will pop over first thing tomorrow to see if 'my' Greylag is still around.

 

[greylag goose fan]

Greylag goose - neck band BVJ + radio transmitter

Hi the greylag goose BVJ tag is now at Saltwell Park in Gateshead (3.9.06 - 2pm). It was feeding with a number of Canada geese but no other Greylags. Do they normally keep together - if so has the transmitter/neck tag meant that it is now unable to be with its peers?
Peter

 

[greylag goose fan]

Greylag goose - BVJ

BVJ is now feeding at Saltwell Park, Gateshead. It is not with other Greylags but is with a number of Canada Geese.
Seen 3.9.06 at 2pm/

 

[Phil Prosser]

BVJ is now feeding at Saltwell Park, Gateshead. It is not with other Greylags but is with a number of Canada Geese.
Seen 3.9.06 at 2pm/

I've just got a satellite download which shows that although he's not exactly frenetically zooming around, BVJ is moving about a bit - when no-one's looking! - he's been down to the Washington Waterfowl park at least once, and was there overnight on 28 - 29 August, before heading back to Saltwell, arriving there around 6 am.

My colleague who caught him up at Druridge Bay tells me he was hanging around with a group of Canada geese then - possibly he thinks he is one. It's not at all unknown for canadas to dump eggs in greylags' nests or vice versa. The gosling imprints on its foster mother and subsequently believes it's the same species.

Sometimes, goslings join up with another creche of goslings, not necessarily of their own species. In these circumstances, they are probably very confused about which species they are.

At one time, another colleague was keeping some of his waterfowl collection in my garden. A brent goose was clearly head over heels in love with a chicken - he never took his eyes off her, and followed her up and down his side of the fence dividing them. Later, my mate told me that this brent was brooded by a chicken.

Before he settled in Gateshead to moult, BVJ made a sort of world tour of Northumberland . At the time, we wondered why he checked out so many potential moulting sites but chose Saltwell Park. Now I wonder if it was because he felt more at home among the Canadas at Saltwell than among the greylags at all the other places.

At one of our old catching sites on the Ure, there was (and may still be) a greylag very firmly paired with a Canada. Who knows, maybe BVJ will pair with one.

 

[Phil Prosser]

I forgot to add that we've got someone working on a web page on which you will be able to track the recent movements of your favourite radio-tagged greylag. I'll let you all know (here) when it's up and working.

 

[greylag goose fan]

BVJ - Back in Gateshead

BVJ was again back at Saltwell Park, Gateshead today (1.10.06, 4.00pm). It was with about 15 Canada Geese and some swans and was feeding happily from corn, bread etc it was given. It appears to feel safe there as it was less than 1 metre from people.

 

[Gill Osborne]

Lovely to hear that 'my' Greylag is still around :t: I'll have to pop down to Saltwell this weekend with some grain to see him once more.

I'm SO glad I decided to mention this sighting earlier in the year as it's been fascinating reading about his exploits and movements!