Pink-footed geese scared away from wildlife reserve by fireworks

Around 50,000 pink footed geese are thought to have been scared away from one of the world’s most important wintering populations because of noise from fireworks.

The geese famously descend on the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Montrose Basin Wildlife Reserve in Angus each year as part of “Scotland’s biggest nature spectacle”.

Numbers were estimated at more than 90,000 last week, but a co-ordinated count as part of the Uk-wide Icelan- 0 42,840 pink footed geese remain at the reserve dic Breeding Goose Census held on Sunday recorded just 42,840.

The Trust has received several reports of fireworks being let off at Tayock, within the reserve, and discarded fireworks found on the edge of the basin suggest the birds were displaced by the noisy bangers.

Montrose Basin Ranger Anna Cheshier yesterday urged the public not to set off fireworks near important areas for wildlife.

She said: “Once the fireworks started, geese numbers went down drastically. But because the noise started on nights with strong moonlight the geese would have been encouraged to move on.”