Photos and text Margus Ots
Translation Liis
From the wintering areas in western Europe the first flocks, mainly consisting of greater white-fronted geese and bean geese reached Estonia already in March. The geese, heading for their breeding areas in the tundras of Russia, stay in Estonia at most until the end of April-beginning of May; in mid-May they already leave for the breeding grounds. In the second half of May only a few left behind can be seen.
The geese stay in particularly great numbers around Tartu, where nearly 25 000 geese are spending the night at the Aardla lake. Of those more than 85% are greater white-fronted geese, the remainder mainly bean geese.
While only some ten barnacle geese can be seen in the inland goose flocks, much more of them stop at the western coast. The peak period of the arrival of greater white-fronted geese is however in the beginning of May when they can be seen in tens of thousands in the coastal pastures in western Estonia.
With good luck a pink-footed goose or even a red-breasted goose may be seen in the flocks.
It is however not worthwhile to look for grey geese in the large flocks of April and May – they arrived already early in March and by now are already nesting in pairs on the western coast. Grey geese in general occur inland very rarely, only some single individuals may go astray to the mainland with other geese .
The migration of geese can be nicely followed in the eBiodiversity data base where many birdwatchers enter their observations of Anser and Branta geese