Montrose Basin’s annual spectacle of pink-footed geese

Scores of thousands of the birds flock to the east coast of Scotland each year on their way to wintering sites in England from Iceland and Greenland.

Pink-footed geese have gathered at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Montrose Basin Wildlife Reserve on their annual autumn migration south. Scores of thousands flock to the site each year, with the highest number an estimated 90,000 geese recorded in October 2016. The geese pass through the reserve on their long migration from Iceland and Greenland to wintering sites in England. They roost on the Basin overnight and disperse into the surrounding farmland to feed during the day.