Taiga Bean Goose (LBRC)

Breeds eastern Scandinavia through Ural Mts. east to Lake Baikal and farther east; usually winters in central and southern Europe, southwest Asia and Central Asia (Turkmenistan and Iran east to western China), and East Asia. Rare winter visitor, with occasional larger influxes.

 

 

 

                   Taiga Bean Geese: left, in a flock of Pink-footed Geese Winteringham January 14th 2011; right, Worlaby Carrs March 13th 2011 (Graham Catley).

 

Taiga Bean Geese of the nominate Scandinavian and north-west Russian subspecies are regular winterers, mainly in northern Britain and with a regular small flock still wintering in Norfolk. This species was split from Tundra Bean Goose, A. rossicus, by the AOU (AOS from 2016) in 2007; this was adopted by the IOC and thus the BOU when they voted to change to IOC taxonomy.

Historically and before the split, Bean Geese were not often assigned to race. After 2000 the first confirmed record of this taxon in the county was of a single bird February 16th-March 1st 2003 at Gibraltar Point, and with a further 10 records in six of the years since it remains a rare winter visitor. Flocks of eight were seen in 2011 (photograph, above) and 2017.

 

Site	First  date	Last date	Count	Notes
Gibraltar Point NNR	16/02/2003	01/03/2003	1	Photograph in LBCRS 2003-7
Gibraltar Point NNR	20/02/2004	-	1	Photograph in LBCRS 2003-7
Donna Nook NNR	02/01/2007	-	1
Winteringham	14/01/2011	18/01/2011	1
Donna Nook NNR	27/01/2011	28/01/2011	3
Worlaby Carrs	13/03/2011	20/03/2011	8	Also seen at Appleby & Bonby Carrs
Donna Nook NNR	19/03/2011	-	1
Donna Nook NNR	11/10/2014	-	2
Donna Nook NNR	03/11/2014	10/11/2014	2	Presumed same as birds of Oct 11th.
Thurlby/Bassingham	21/01/2017	-	8
Marston STW	25/01/2018	28/01/2018	1
Anderby	26/11/2018	-	2	Grazing in fields between Anderby & Huttoft Pit LWT
S-T Dunes NNR	12/10/2021	-	2	On the foreshore
Covenham Reservoir	21/10/2021		5

 

(Account as per new Birds of Lincolnshire (2021), included September 2022)