Dedicated volunteers at an Angus nature reserve have 85,000 reasons to celebrate after smashing a wild geese census count.
Rangers and enthusiasts were up with the lark to tot up the numbers at Montrose Basin as the Scottish Wildlife Trust facility set its sight on breaking last year’s recorded total of 78,970 pink-footed geese at the Angus attraction.
The count was part of the Icelandic Breeding Goose Census which aims to chart the numbers which winter in the UK from Greenland and Iceland.
After last year beating the previous 2010 record of just over 65,000, Montrose Basin ranger Anna Cheshier and the Angus team tallied up a staggering 85,632 birds on Sunday morning.
The mammoth task for a team of just eight people dotted around the basin used tried and tested count methods for birds in the air and on the ground or water.
Seasonal visitor centre assistant Simon Ritchie said: “We were expecting a good number and were really happy with 78,970 last year, but over 85,000 is pretty decent.
“The conditions couldn’t have been better,” he added.
The spectacular sight of huge numbers of geese taking off or arriving back at the basin at dawn and dusk is proving a major draw for the reserve, and many daytime visitors are asking about the pink-footed population.
SWT officials have encouraged those who may not be dedicated ornithologists to try to take in the stunning sight of the birds en masse at the basin.
Almost 375,000 of the birds, some 90% of the world’s population, winter in the UK and the reserve staff see no reason why the Montrose numbers will not continue to grow in years to come.
Ahead of the count last week, the total was sitting around the 57,000 mark, but a major influx helped the figure to the new record.
Other counts took place at more than 120 sites across the UK, Ireland, the Faroe Islands and Norway.
The geese undertake a 20-hour flight to make the 1,200 kilometre journey from their northern territory before severe winter conditions set in, and they will remain in Angus until around March.
Photo by Angus Pictures