Pink-footed Geese

UK status:
About 280,000, 80% of world population winter in the UK, with up to 30% in Norfolk

Status at Abbey Farm:
Frequently present from October to January. Maximum of 20,000

Notes from Abbey Farm:

• Their main food here is root fragments left in the fields after sugar beet have been harvested
• Damage to beet before harvesting is rare. It is most likely if geese are feeding in a field that has only partly been harvested
• Geese are easily frightened. If you want to attract them onto your farm then minimise disturbance in their first few days on the site
• If you are a birdwatcher want to see geese on farmland, please read this
• Geese will graze winter barley, oilseed rape and grassland where they can cause damage. Regular frightening or the use of flags can help reduce problems
• Over 100 ringed geese have been recorded here

Read ‘The farmer and the Pink-feet can be friends‘ article from the 1993 Norfolk Bird & Mammal Report (Norfolk & Norwich Naturalists Society, 1994)