Wildfowl is an international scientific journal, published annually by Wildfowl Press, and previously published by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (from 1948–2020). It disseminates original material on the ecology, biology and conservation of wildfowl (Anseriformes) and ecologically associated birds (such as waders, rails and flamingos), and on their wetland habitats.
Issue 73 of Wildfowl is again wide-ranging in its coverage. Especially welcome are the results of recently established monitoring programmes for geese in general, but particularly for Red-breasted Geese Branta ruficollis in the Black Sea region and specifically in Romania. The Red-breasted Goose is renowned for nesting in close association with Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus on the arctic tundra, but a new assessment of recent breeding records of Lesser White-fronted Geese Anser erythropus throughout their Russian range shows that this small goose exhibits a similar pattern. This issue also examines the determinants of breeding success in Greenland Barnacle Geese Branta leucopsis, exploiting David Cabot’s long-term monitoring data. Introduced, self-sustaining populations of alien species are a cause for great concern at present, but the Canada Goose Branta canadensis introduced to Britain is of interest because of the moult migration traditions that the birds have established for themselves, some described here for the first time by Kane Brides and coauthors.
Greylag Geese Anser anser feature in two articles. The first contributes vital information to the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) International Single Species Management Plan for the Greylag Goose (Northwest/Southwest European population), by using ring recoveries and encounters with marked individuals. The second uses tracking devices to examine the frequency, nature and duration of “sanding expeditions” made by Greylag Geese (tagged in Denmark) whilst wintering on the Guadalquivirs of Coto Doñana, southern Spain, where the birds visit the famous sand dunes to collect grit to help their digestion of tough marsh plants consumed on the site.
This issue also highlights the application of relatively new technologies, such as new generation sequencing for a dietary study of the rare and threatened Laysan Teal Anas laysanensis. Mitochondrial DNA and genotypic data at microsatellite loci were analysed to determine genetic relationships and connectivity between the disjunct group of Velvet Scoters Melanitta fusca which breed in Georgia, in relation to those from the much larger northern breeding population wintering in the Baltic, whilst geolocation was used to reveal previously unknown year-round movements of individual Common Scoters Melanitta nigra from the Scottish breeding population.
Wildfowl remains proud of the role that it plays in publishing analyses that support conservation. This issue brings contributions which can be used to underpin the effective safeguarding and management of sites. For instance, identification of key sites used by Scaly-sided Mergansers Mergus squamatus staging in South Korea, which is important for protecting these areas, whilst the monitoring incubation behaviour of dabbling ducks breeding in Canada can contribute to our understanding of the effects of habitat cover and landscape-level disturbance on productivity in common boreal-nesting species.
Editorial 1
Standard Papers
- Status, origin and harvest of increasing numbers of Greylag Geese Anser anser occurring in Denmark throughout the annual cycle / K.K. Clausen, H. Heldbjerg & A.D. Fox 3
- Danish Greylag Goose Anser anser use of the Coto Dotiana sand dunes for gritting / A.D. Fox, H. Heldbjerg, K.K. Clausen, O.R. Therkildsen, Q. Zhao, J.J. Negro & A.J. Green 26
- Moult migration, site fidelity and survival of Canada Geese Branta canadensis caught at Lake Windermere, Cumbria / K. Brides, K.A. Wood, K. Leighton, J. Barbour, S.W. Petrek, J. Cooper, S.H. Vickers, S.E. Christmas, J. Middleton & A. Grogan 43
- Exploring determinants of breeding success in the Greenland Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis / C. Redmond, D. Cabot, S.Doyle & B.J. McMahon 64
- Numbers and distribution of the Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis in southeast Romania / E. Todorov, A. Ifrim, A. Cotoara, L. Ambrus, C. Fântânâ, C. Ion, C. Domşa, D. Bandacu, D. Petrescu, D Drǎgan, H.G. Dǎnuţ, D. Murariu, D. Damoc, E. Baltag, E. Petrescu, F. Stavarache, J. Veres-Szászka, L. Petrencu, L. Fasola-Matasaru, N. Veres-Szászka, P. Lajos, S. Cristian, S. Bugariu, S. József, V. Cuzic, V. Ajder & V. Amarghioalei 80
- Wintering geese of northwestern Black Sea coasts: results of coordinated monitoring 2017-2022 / M. Iliev, E. Todorov, I. Russev, G. Popgeorgiev, A.D. Fox & N. Petkov 101
- A next-generation sequencing study of arthropods in the diet of Laysan Teal Anas laysanensis / W.A. Holthuijzen, C.C. Antaky, E.N. Flint, J.H. Plissner, C.A. Wolf & H.P. Jones 118
- Breeding biology of the Northern Pintail Anas acuta at the edge of its southwestern Palearctic range / F. Ibáñez, J. Calderón & J.A. Amat 134
- Conservation status of the endangered Scaly-sided Merganser Mergus squamatus on the Korean Peninsula / N. Moores, D.V. Solovyeva, B. Seung-Kwang, L. Su-Young & S.L. Vartanyan 146
- Differential mapping of ringed bird distributions from live resightings versus dead recoveries: an illustration using Eurasian Teal Anas crecca / M. Guillemain, B. Plaquin & A. Tableau 167
- Multi-scale landscape effects on incubation behaviours in boreal nesting ducks / R.P.H. Johnstone, M.E. Dyson, S.M. Slattery & B.C. Fedy 181
- Winter population estimates and distribution changes of two common East Asian dabbling duck species: current status and long-term (1990-2020) trends / B. Zhang, B. Meng, Y. Tung Yu, E.-J. Kim, D. Zheng, J. Yang, Y. Han, Y Liu, S. Zhu, J. Li, Z. Chen, X. Wang, Z. Yang, Y. Zhang, C. Lu, K Shan, C. Jiao, B. Wang, L. Xue, D. Zhang, Q Bai, A. Jiang, M. Zhang, T. Mundkur, T. Shimada, W. Xu, D. Gao, L. Cao & A.D. Fox 210
Short Communications
- Globally threatened Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser egthropus nesting in association with Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus in southern Yamal, Russia / O. Pokrovskaya, N Sokolova, D. Ehrich, O Gilg, V. Sokolov & A. Sokolov 238
- Genetic connectivity between Caucasian and Northern Velvet Scoter Melanitta fusca populations and its importance for the long-term survival of the species in the Caucasus / N. Paposhvili, J. Morkunas, L. Ninua, T. Beridze, N. Kerdikoshvili, D. Dekanoidze, M. Murtskhvaladze, Z. Javakhishvili & A. Gavashelishvili 250
- Year-round movements of female Common Scoter Melanitta nigra nesting in Scotland: birds of a feather don't flock together / C. Mitchell, L.R. Griffin, E. Burrell & G.M. Hilton 262
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