Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus
A very common winter visitor during Sep-Apr, mainly to the Humber and The Wash, but there are many coastal and inland movements. A few injured birds remain in summer.
Pink-footed Geese in north Lincolnshire on November 30th 2014 (Graham Catley(.
The musical notes from a gaggle of Pink-feet flying over in characteristic V-formation are an expected and enjoyable winter experience for most Lincolnshire folk. The county appears to be on the ‘M1’ between their Icelandic /Greenland breeding haunts and Norfolk wintering grounds, though many also winter in the county particularly along the Humber and The Wash. They tend to be heading south-east in autumn and north-west in spring though changes in weather can spark commuting between wintering service stations from Scotland to East Anglia. Over 30,000 per year have been regularly counted in Lincolnshire in recent winters including roosts of 29,000 on the Humber in Oct. With a UK wintering population of around 500,000 many more pass overhead, some in the daytime but many overnight. With so many birds passing through, inevitably some are injured and over summer. These can pair up and are sometimes suspected of breeding although the evidence is sketchy, and it has never been more than an irregular occurrence.
(Account as per new Birds of Lincolnshire (2021), included September 2022)