Spring numbers and distribution of Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis staging in Estonia

Abstract

Between 1964-89, numbers of spring-staging Barnacle Goose in Estonia increased from 11,000 to 57,000. At the same time the numbers of sites used rose from 20 to 100 and several new staging areas were formed. Due to increasing numbers of geese, damage to arable land was observed in western Estonia at the beginning of the 1980s. We suggest that the capacity of natural Barnacle Goose feeding habitats in western Estonia is approximately 30,000 birds.