LOK CM (1985) The Slikken van Flakkee, an important new feeding ground for the Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis in the Delta area. LIMOSA 58 (1): 27-31.

Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis Ten years after the closure of the Grevelingen in 1971 by a dam, a sudden increase in the numbers of the Barnacle Goose was observed on the Slikken van Flakkee (fig. 1). The soil of the Slikken is relatively infertile and in this respect the area differs from other feeding grounds in the Delta area which are characterized by a nutritious sward on fertile soil. The first years after closure of the Grevelingen the area was only thinly vegetated but at the end of the seventies Trifolium repens and Festuca rubra increased markedly. The numerical increase of the Barnacle Goose (fig. 2) coincided with this expansion of the vegetation. Total usage per year was c. 1100 Barnacle Goose days per hectare (fig. 3). During feeding the geese probe the vegetation, which contains much dead material, and pull up stolons of clover which creep along the soil surface below the grass vegetation. These stolons are the chief food of the geese (tab. 1). In addition to clover and grasses Salicornia spp. constitutes a small part of the diet.

[free pdf] [dutch summary]