Although spring is now upon us and there is much to look forward to in the wildlife calendar, the onset of warmer days does bring one personal regret – and that is the impending departure of our winter geese. They bring great deal of panache to our environment, with the morning and evening skies etched with honking v-shaped formations flying between their feeding and roosting sites.

Fortunately, there is still a fair amount of time to see them as they will hang around in Fife until the end of April when they will then begin to move northwards to their breeding grounds in the Arctic.

But while the geese are undoubtedly spectacular, it is unfortunate that both goose and man don’t always see eye to eye, with the birds coming into conflict with farming interests. Geese are the avian equivalent of the cow, grazers in other words, cropping grass with an efficiency which is not exactly good news if you are a farmer. As winter progresses they also feed on waste potatoes and turnips, and, to a limited extent in late spring on young corn.

There are several species of goose found in Fife, but the two commonest are the pink-foot and the greylag. Both species will feed on farmland during the day and use traditional and well established roosts at night, often on water – either fresh or tidal. Most of the greylags and pink-foots here have come from their breeding grounds in Iceland. A good number of pink-foots also arrive from Greenland.

Fife is a real hotspot for these two species because of the abundance of farmland. Some of the biggest concentrations in Scotland are found just over the Fife border at Loch Leven, which the birds use as both a roost and a feeding area.
Other large roosts are found at the Cameron reservoir and the Eden estuary in east Fife. In 1993, an incredible 27,300 pink-foots were counted roosting at Cameron reservoir. The biggest flocks of pink-foots are found in the eastern parts of the Kingdom, with smaller congregations tending to be found in the west. The same is true of the greylag, although good spots in the west occur around Craigluscar reservoir and Loch Glow. The fields around Crossford and Cairneyhill also regularly hold geese, with some of these birds roosting in nearby Torry Bay. In East Fife, Kilconquhar Loch is a roost site of key importance for the greylag.

Greylags and pink-foots can be difficult to tell apart. At close range the pink-foot has a darker head. The bill is also dark less prominent bill than that of the greylag, which has an orange beak. In flight, the greylag has a distinctive call, very much akin to that of the farmyard goose, while the equally vocal pink-foot has a similar but more metallic call.

There is a well established breeding feral population of greylags in Fife, centred around Beveridge Park in Kirkcaldy, with Morton Lochs in the north-east also holding several pairs. Other species that occur in Fife are the much scarcer barnacle and brent goose, both of which are most often seen in spring and autumn as they pass through on migration. They are smaller than the greylag and pink-foot and are characterised by their dark plumage.

Scotland is the winter home of several internationally vulnerable and uncommon species of goose. They might occasionally cause problems for farmers in a few areas, but in most cases these can be contained by suitable management. It is vital that our geese are conserved, even for no other reason than to bring light to our dark winter skies.