Across the highlands and remote wetlands of Iceland, the calling of the pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) marks a distinctive aspect of the warmer months. These birds, known as “heiðagæs” in Icelandic and abbreviated by birdwatchers as “pinkfeet”, rely on the island’s rugged landscapes for breeding, before embarking on remarkable transcontinental journeys.
A goose of dramatic journeys
Pink-footed geese spend their summers across places such as Þjórsárver, one of the most significant breeding sites in the world, as well as Vesturöræfi and Guðlaugstungur. Their numbers have grown considerably over recent decades, from about 23,000 in 1952 to close to 400,000 by 2015. A single discovery at Þjórsárver in the 1950s revealed the global importance of these Icelandic wetlands and continues to shape knowledge of arctic-breeding geese.
Physically, these geese measure between 60 and 75 centimetres, with a wingspan surpassing 1.3 metres. Their most distinctive traits are the rosy-pink colour of their legs and a short beak tinted in pink with black ends and base, setting them apart from similar goose species. Plumage is generally brownish-grey, with a darker neck and head and a noticeable white area at the base of the tail.
After breeding and raising their young, pinkfeet migrate south from Iceland and Greenland in early autumn. The journey leads most to wintering grounds in Great Britain, where large flocks graze farm fields and wetlands. Some travel onward to Ireland, though in smaller numbers, and a separate population from Svalbard and Novaya Zemlya winters further east in the Netherlands and Denmark.
Breeding and adaptation
Nesting sites are typically found on cliff edges near glaciers or on small islets within lakes, where the abundant summer daylight and landscape offer some defence against predators like the Arctic fox. Breeding pairs usually lay three to five eggs each season. Following hatching, goslings quickly leave the nest to reach open water, a trek essential for their survival and growth.
Pink-footed geese survive on a diet of grasses and tundra vegetation during the Arctic summer. In the winter, their appetite shifts to remnants of harvested crops, including potatoes, sugar beet and oilseed rape, sometimes helping to limit the spread of disease in the fields by consuming crop remains left after harvest.
The geese’s migration attracts attention far from their core European range. Single birds have occasionally been observed as far afield as eastern North America, including recent reports from Kentucky. In Russia, environmental change has recently allowed a group of pinkfoot geese to establish a new breeding colony on Novaya Zemlya, a phenomenon attributed to warmer regional temperatures and the birds’ ability to learn and adapt their migration patterns.
The story of the pink-footed goose demonstrates both the resilience and adaptability of migratory wildlife and Iceland’s continuing role in Arctic ecology.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- Wikipedia (Icelandic) in Icelandic
