Site fidelity and range size of wintering Barnacle Geese Branta leucopsis

Capsule Barnacle Geese restrict their movements to relatively few key sites and exhibit considerable variation in ranging behaviour. Aims To examine individual and seasonal variation in site fidelity, habitat use, range size and foraging strategies of Barnacle Geese Branto leucopsis. Methods The movements of 18 male Barnacle Geese tagged in two discrete areas were tracked for 3-6 months from late autumn until departure on the spring migration. Results Tagged geese concentrated their feeding in a relatively small proportion of apparently suitable habitat. Geese moved increasingly further afield in midwinter, and there was a clear predeparture shift to the largest area of relatively undisturbed, and possibly more nitrogen-rich, saltmarsh on the Solway. Birds from one of the two capture sites tended to be more sedentary and have smaller home ranges. Conclusion There is considerable between-site and inter-individual variation in the degree of site-faithfulness of Barnacle Geese.