White-fronted Goose - 2018

Scarce winter visitor and passage migrant.

All records relate to birds of the Greenland race A.a. flavirostris: seven at Marloes Mere 26th Oct, presumably the same as at Dale Airfield 29th Oct, one of which was sporting a neck collar – put on at Wexford in March 2003. 14 at Trevine Common 26th Oct – 16th Nov.

From the Pembrokeshire Bird Report 2018

Tony Fox confirmed the bird at the airfield was CDZ, as seen by Brian and Paul G on Sunday. Tony gave a bit more of his biography and sightings:

This was first autumn male we caught at a place called Hvanneyri in west Iceland on 23 September 2017.  This site is the home of the Agricultural University of Iceland where they maintain a large area of hayfields adjacent to natural wetlands which are a magnet for the White-fronted Geese in both spring and autumn when they pass through.  We are not entirely sure of his parents, as he associated with two other collared individuals V3Y and a bird fitted with a telemetry collar (both adult females when they were caught in the same catch), as well as a unmarked adult that obviously escaped capture on that occasion whilst in Iceland following capture.  You will see on the attached list of all resightings of marked Greenland White-fronted Geese away from Wexford (where the vast majority are marked and resighted) your bird wintered last year on Wexford Slobs (as do many of the geese that stage in Hvanneyri), where it was also seen with the same marked/unmarked associates.  Interestingly, CDZ was not seen at Hvanneyri this autumn, which is somewhat unusual, since as well as being incredibly site loyal to their winter quarters, these geese also tend to use the same spring and autumn staging areas in successive seasons.

Andrew Simms, Pembs Bird Blog

White-fronted Goose - 1949

Anser albifrons albifrons

Mathew records it from Goodwick, and one from Fishguard, Dec 1890.  One shot Angle, 5 Nov 1929 out of two feeding in a field (Bertram Lloyd).  Five Dale, 20 Dec 1938; passes over the islands on migration, sometimes landing for a short time (R.M.L.).  Two, shot Newgale (Feb 1949 and Dec 1948)

R.M.Lockley, G.C.S.Ingram, H.M.Salmon, 1949, The Birds of Pembrokeshire, The West Wales Field Society

White-fronted Goose - 1994

Scarce winter visitor and passage migrant. Not recorded from May to August

Mathew (1894) refers to the White-fronted Goose as an occasional winter visitor in severe weather while Lockley et al. (1949) give four records and say that it passes over the islands on migration.

Nowadays, one or two occasionally drop in to stay awhile during the winter, sometimes attaching themselves to the Canada Goose flock on the Cleddau Estuary. Several flocks of between 30 and 130 Eurasian White-fronts, subspecies albifrons, took refuge in coastal districts, such as Marloes and Merrion, during the severe winter of 1963, arriving in January with some staying into March.

There seems to be a fairly regular passage of small flocks of up to 16 Greenland White-fronts, subspecies flavirostris, in October and November, with occasional occurrences from 2 September, probably birds on their way to Ireland. An exceptionally large passage of five flocks totalling 94 birds passing westwards occurred at Strumble Head on 17 October 1991, when a few also passed Caldey. One or two are occasionally seen on passage between March and early May.

Donovan J.W. & Rees G.H (1994), Birds of Pembrokeshire

White-fronted Goose - 1980s winter

Two White-fronted Geese were recorded in Pembrokeshire for the BTO winter atlas during the winters of 1981-82, 1982-82 and 1983-84. They were of the Greenland race Anser albifrons flavirostris.

Graham Rees

White-fronted Goose - Race

Anser albifrons

The majority of records where the birds were seen well enough could be ascribed to the Greenland race A.a.flavirostris. During the period of this review up to 600 of this race regularly wintered at Cors Caron but ceased to do so after 1968 but an average of 140 have wintered on the Dyfi Estuary in recent years, both these localities being in neighbouring Ceredigion (Roderick and Davis, 2001). However, much larger numbers have wintered throughout the period in Ireland, the closest to Pembrokeshire being at Wexford Slobs. It seems likely that most of those seen in Pembrokeshire were moving between these populations. 

Birds of the Greenland race, A.a.flavirostris, were identified in the Castle Martin area during the large influx in the arctic winter of 1963. Many of the others encountered in January at other coastal areas, like Ramsey, Skomer, Marloes, Broad Haven (N), Newgale and Goodwick, were of the Siberian race A.a.albifrons. At least 370 birds were involved countywide and those at Ramsey stayed there until the 3rd March. The Greenland birds were probably from a frozen Cors Caron, the Siberian birds most likely were from the population which wintered at that time on the Afon Twyi at Dryslwyn. One shot at St Justinian’s in January 1963 had been ringed in Holland in January 1960.

The only other records of A.a.albifrons were: three at St David’s airfield from the 27th January to the 4th February 1998, two at Skokholm on the 9th November 2002 and one with the Teifi Valley Canada Geese flock from the 4th December 2005 to March 2006.    

Graham Rees.

(Covers records up to and including 2008).

References

RODERICK.H and DAVIS. P.2010. Birds of Ceredigion, The Wildlife

White-fronted Goose - Passage

Anser albifrons

Autumn passage was recorded in 75% of the years 1980 – 2008. This principally occurred in October and November but two passed Strumble Head on the 2nd September 1988 and eight were at Marloes Mere on the 20th September 1990.

Total recorded per annum 1986 to 2008.

Passage was heaviest in 1991, when 94 passed Strumble Head on one day and in 1996 when a group of 100 passing along the coast paused on Ramsey Island. Most records refer to birds flying through the area in close proximity to the coast but some parties were seen to stop to feed, the St David’s district being particularly favoured in this respect.  

White-fronted Geese have been recorded in coastal regions on seven occasions in the spring, in March and April, with one lingering on Skokholm until the 1st May 1990. One or two birds at a time were involved apart from 40-50 at Ramsey on the 3rd March 1963 and 14 at Newgale on the 21st March 1998.

White-fronted Goose - Winter

Anser albifrons

Normally there have been very few White-fronted Geese recorded in Pembrokeshire during the winter, where winter is taken as being from December to February, being recorded in only 16 years between 1938 and 2006. Normally between one and five birds were involved, with eight in 1987, nine in 2001, 15 in 1967, 22 in 1967 and 370 in1963.

The numbers seen in 1963 were exceptional and were caused by the arctic winter which gripped the whole of North West Europe, when birds of many species moved westwards in search of more amenable conditions.

 Otherwise winter occurrence has been sporadic and most birds were only seen for a few days but individuals have over wintered attached to Canada Geese flocks at the Western Cleddau and Teifi Valley. All records were from or near the coast apart from 22 at Llys y fran Reservoir in February 1967.

White-fronted Goose - Status

Anser albifrons

Winter visitor and passage migrant.

The nominate race A.a.albifrons breeds across the tundra of Siberia, those in the western part of the range wintering in North West Europe, including the UK. The Greenland race A.a.flavirostris breeds in Western Greenland and winters in Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

Mathew (1894) described the White-fronted Goose as an occasional visitor in severe weather but specifically mentioned only its occurrence at Goodwick and one at Fishguard in December 1890.

Bertram Lloyd(1939) did not encounter the species in Pembrokeshire but inspected a mounted specimen at Mellaston Farm which had been bagged there on the 5th November 1929, it having been in the company of another which flew away.

 Lockley et al (1949) cite five at Dale on 20th December 1938 and two shot at Newgale in February 1947 or 1948. They also vaguely stated “passes over the islands on migration, sometimes landing for a short time”.  However Betts (1992) noted that occasional sightings of “grey geese” at Skokholm may refer to Whitefronts but the first definite record was not until eight seen on the 25th October 1954.

Donovan and Rees (1994) noted an influx during the arctic winter of 1963 and a fairly regular passage of small flocks in October and November.

References

BETTS. M. 1992. Birds of Skokholm, BioLine, Cardiff.

DONOVAN. J and REES. G. 1994. Birds of Pembrokeshire, Dyfed Wildlife Trust.

LLOYD. B. 1929-1939 Diaries, National Museum of Wales.

LOCKLEY. R. M, INGRAM. C. S. and SALMON. H. M.1949. The birds of Pembrokeshire, West Wales Field Society.

MATHEW. M. 1894. The birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands, R. H. Porter.

White-fronted Goose - 1894

Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"

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