From mid to late summer, there seems to be a lull of birds, and everything quietens down on our wetlands. However, as autumn comes, wetlands seem to come alive again, as birds move onto wetlands to overwinter, many of which are migrants, heading to the UK where its warmer, from places such as the Arctic.
One of these migrant species is the pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus), which leave their breeding grounds from Spitsbergen, Iceland and Greenland to spend their winters on wetlands here in the UK. They can often be seen coming off in off the sea along the Yorkshire coast and along estuaries such as the Humber, flying in groups called skeins. It can be a little tricky to identify them when they’re up in the air, so a good way to identify them is by the sound of their calls. They sound a little like greylag geese, but chattier and a little higher pitched.
Barnacle geese are another goose that migrates to the UK from Greenland and Svalbard. These geese can sometimes be seen on our local wetlands, as they overwinter in northern England and Scotland. They are similar in appearance to Canada geese but are smaller and have a creamy face with a black neck.
Another two species (which we have introduced in a previous blog) are the whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) and Bewick’s swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii). They are both very similar in appearance (with the difference being in their size and the pattern on their beaks). Whooper swans come to the UK from Iceland, and Bewick’s swans come from Siberia. The whooper swan is the species you are most likely to see on our local wetlands (with recent sightings at St Aidan’s), as Bewick’s swans are less well distributed.
It's not all about swans and geese though! A lot of our winter migrant are wading birds, like black-tailed godwits (Limosa limosa). Whilst we do have a small UK breeding population of these birds, many of them come from Iceland to the UK in winter. These birds can be seen on local wetlands (RSPB St Aidan’s and RSPB Fairburn Ings included) and are identified by their orange chests in summer or grey/brown appearance in winter, long legs, long beak and black and white stripes on their wings.
If you see any of these species around St Aidan’s and Fairburn Ings, please do let us know! You can tag us on social media, come to the visitor’s centres to tell us or write in our sightings books, which are also found in the visitor’s centres at both reserves. Happy spotting!
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