Geese

Lake Östen is one of the world's most important resting places for Bean Geese, Anser fabalis fabalis. The geese have been counted since 1976 - and the trends can be seen in the following diagram. Some 20 years ago (1984), a maximum of 4,000 geese rested in the area. This figure is the top number noted during both the spring and autumn.

Twenty years later (2004), 10,000 Bean Geese could be seen on a normal day in spring, while the number in the autumn can be as high 20,000. In Sweden, during the same period, the number of resting geese also increased in the provinces of Skåne and Närke, while it decreased at the large resting place, Tåkern, in the province of Östergötland. So, there has not been any dramatic increase in the population. The geese have instead changed their resting patterns.

The counts take place at dawn, when the geese leave their overnight resting places on the lake to fly to the surrounding fields.

It goes without saying that the Bean Geese do not breed at Lake Östen. They simply rest here on their journey between their winter resting places in North-Western Europe and their breeding areas in the Russian taiga.

There are many wonderful sights for anyone who has the time and interest to take a closer look at the flocks of geese. Some one hundred Pink-footed Geese and White-fronted Geese can usually be seen with the Bean Geese during the spring. Even our most exclusive goose - the threatened Lesser White-fronted Goose - can be seen here. A few individuals, perhaps two or three, often hide among the Bean Geese.

It is, however, easier to spot the Greylag Goose and the Canada Goose. The Greylag are most numerous during the late summer and autumn. At that time, 5,000 of them can be seen at the same time in the area. A few pairs of Greylag Geese actually breed.