SCHILPEROORD LJ, TIMMERMAN A &, PHILIPPONA J (1989) The occurrence of the Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus in Friesland during 1956 - 1986. LIMOSA 62 (3): 125-130.

Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus = Anser fabalis brachyrhynchus Pink-footed Geese breeding on Svalbard winter mainly in three regions: West Jutland (Denmark), SW. Friesland (Netherlands) and Flanders (Belgium). Wintering sites in Germany (FRG) have lost their importance. In autumn, Pinkfeet migrate to Jutland, where they arrive from the end of September. Many leave Denmark in October an shortly afterwards arrive in Friesland. Peak numbers can be found here in November or sometimes in December. Many Pinkfeet return to Jutland at the end of that month or in January. During cold spells they sometimes migrate for a second time to Friesland. Pinkfeet arrive in Flanders in November and peak numbers occur in December. Most Pinkfeet leave this area in January. The geese leave Jutland in early or mid May. Feeding sites in Friesland consist of grasslands. Roosts are small lakes, banks in the IJsselmeer, and flooded grasslands (fig. 2, 3). Their distribution over the area changes in the course of the winter (fig. 3). Changes during 1956-87 in the use of the area are shown in three maps (fig. 4). The size of the total population has increased between 1930 and 1980 from 10 000 to 28 500 birds. Numbers in Friesland and Flanders have increased from the end of the fifties and after the mid seventies. The number of goose days (GD) in SW. Friesland has increased both absolutely and compared with the total ofGD in Western Europe (tab. 1). Shooting of Pinkfeet is not allowed in Belgium and the Netherlands. Approximately 1500 are shot each season in Denmark. In Jutland Pinkfeet cause damage to winter cereals during autumn. Problems are more serious during spring, when they pick up newly sown grain. In Friesland the geese give problems in October and November, because then the grasslands are still used for cattle grazing and for a last hay cut. International co-operation is needed to arrive at a better management of the Pink-footed Geese in the wintering areas

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