Anyone else got the pink feet Geese going over?

[LancashireButterPie]

Had thousands flying over today, their call is so etheral in the mist!
DH seems to think that most of the entire world population of PF geese migrate down from Iceland to parts of the UK for winter.
How very precious they are.
Feeling very autumnal today.

We had them going over last night and during this last week. I love to hear them and see their V formations.

We get thousands going over too. We're on the border of West Lancs, near to Martin Mere where they hang out!

We get hundreds landing in the fields opposite the house as well, once we're into winter.

We saw just one this morning walking round our local lake, I have never seen the orange beak, pink feet geese before and had to google! We have plenty of swans and Canadian geese but never seen a PL before 🥰

We had a huge flock go over last week. I love watching them.

Yes, for a couple of weeks now but this morning's seemed noisier with the stillness of the fog.

How do you tell what type of geese they are when they are so high up? Do you need binoculars? Is it that the call is different?

We're in France and on the 'flight path' for the grue (cranes) as they make their way from Scandinavia to warmer climes. It's a wonderful sight and sound. We're expecting them any day now.

We live where they come to in Winter. There are thousands and thousands of them.

There's a brilliant app called Merlin which helps identify birds from their calls. Pink footed geese do sound a bit different to Canada geese but I need the app to tell me which is which.

They just sound very chattery, like a hen party flying over. By contrast the Canada geese are more "honky".

but at this time of year if there’s a lot of them, chances are they’re pink feet…
well, I suppose that depends where you are - for instance the solway firth gets huge numbers of Barnacle geese from spitzbergen. And Slimbridge in Gloucester gets Bewick swans from (I think) Siberia.

I’m in Lancashire too so see skeins of them.

The whooper swans are arriving at Martin Mere too from Iceland, we were there last weekend.

I love the big migrations, and hearing the millions of geese overhead is thrilling. I'm in the northern midwest in the US and it amazes me thst these birds have been following the same landmarks south and then north again for thousands of years. What changes the landscape has seen over the centuries.

Yes aren't they a wonderful sight (and sound)
DH got a photo of one walking by the river yesterday.

They do such long flights too! I think they benefit from being able to do that ‘half a brain asleep, one eye open’ thing. I wonder if in their Vs they coordinate which eye is open, and Lead Goose has to be fully awake?

This must be what I heard in the night on Sunday! I was woken by a strange noise at 4.30am and wondered what bird might be calling at that time - wondered if it was geese (or if the cat was harassing a squirrel.) Do they fly at night?

I'm really jealous, I have ALL the honky honky Canada geese living outside my window at the moment (I'm on a river!) they go up and down every day, hundreds of them, and every, single, movement, needs a honk. I love them dearly but a break and a bit of pink would be most welcome, looks like I'm on the wrong side of the country though.

Is there anyone knowledgeable who could tell me: last week I was in E Yorks and there were massively long strings of them flying very high up, much longer than I see here with my Canada gang, would that be a different species or is the unending flatness of the East Yorks landscape conducive of longer lines?

The squadrons of pink-footed geese in V-formation are a sign that summer has tipped over into autumn for sure. We live in N Oxfordshire, and they always fly over late Sept/early October and at sunset. I love watching them, even though it's a sure sign that the season has changed.

Yes, I think they fly continuously from Iceland so they must be able to.

Quite probably pink feet as they all end up around Norfolk by Christmas. Wouldn't it be great if there was a migration tracker app, like Flight radar 🥰

This goose you saw was almost certainly a Greylag Goose which are common all year round in the UK. Pink Footed geese arrive en-masse in huge flocks rather than as a single bird.

https://forktail.co.uk/2024/12/18/telling-greylag-geese-and-pink-footed-geese-apart-in-flight/

heres a good photo of a greylag and a pink foot together
https://www.birdful.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/5a00265aff136dde0db6d5a356a84295.jpg

Thank you MotherTuckinGenius I am in South Yorkshire! I will be on the lookout this Sunday and hopefully see more than one! 👀 😍

There were hundreds of them on a field I walked past yesterday (NE Lincs), about a third of them took off, then smaller gaggles followed them a few seconds apart.
Made me wonder if it's some sort of innate order of flight, ladies first, or just completely random.

They take turns. I’m not sure if this article is 100% scientifically valid and is a bit anthropomorphised but it’s a nice description.

https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/beginners/birding-faq/how-do-geese-decide-who-leads/