Pink Footed Geese in April (1 Viewer)

[wheelsandwhales]

Hello, I'm an author from the UK and I'm going to be writing about Iceland when travelling there with my daughter in mid-April this year. I'm interested in the Pink-Footed Goose, a species that starts the winter near my home in Scotland (spending about 6 weeks here before going further south). I would like to know if it's possible to see the Pinkies in Iceland in April, if there is anywhere I can reach by car to see them with my daughter, who is a wheelchair user. Her wheelchair means we can't hike over rough ground. We have a car. We'd also be interested to go with a guide, or a researcher who knows about the geese. We are novices. The Pinkies will be part of the book, if we find them.

We will have a little time in Reykjavik but for a little longer we will be based in the Snaefellsnes region.

Thank you!

 

[maplekong]

Hi, I know nothing about Iceland but will post to push this further up in the new post section, to hopefully avoid it getting buried underneath everything else.

Good luck, hope you find someone who can help! And do keep us updated on the book.

Maple

 

[James Lowther]

at least some pink-footed geese will be Iceland in April. I believe they breed in fairly inaccessible highland areas but may stopover in the lowlands near the main road that encircles the island.

check out the eBird distribution map for April and zoom in to see exact sites

https://ebird.org/map/pifgoo?neg=true&env.minX=&env.minY=&env.maxX=&env.maxY=&zh=false&gp=false&ev=Z&excludeExX=false&excludeExAll=false&mr=on&bmo=4&emo=4&yr=all&byr=1900&eyr=2025

There's a few good looking areas with numerous records e.g. around Varmahlíð in the north, and Selfoss in the south, but because these are stopover sites i'm not sure there is anywhere where they can be guaranteed.

Hopefully someone with better local knowledge will follow up however,

cheers,
James

​

 

[Edward]

Hi
Yes lots of Pink-footed Geese in lowland areas of Iceland in April. No need to get out the car, you can see them in many places from the car on quiet roads with no traffic. As James points out, start having a look at eBird. The best sites for Pink-footed Geese in April are generally in southern Iceland, and close to Reykjavík the roads south of Selfoss and north of Stokkseyri usually attract plenty of geese. There are a few quiet gravel roads in this area where you should be able to get good views. There will also be plenty of Whooper Swans, Graylag and a few Barnacle and Greenland White-fronted Geese in this area (the latter two are more common in other areas). Also plenty if you go further east on the country roads south of Hella. If you are heading to the Snæfellsnes area, which is wonderfully scenic and definitely worth visiting, then on the way you will pass close to a small settlement called Hvanneyri. This is noted for its flocks of Greenland White-fronted Geese but there should also be Pink-footed Geese here too. Would also be surprising if you didn't see roadside Rock Ptarmigan in this area too.
You might see Pinkfeet on the Snæfellsnes peninsula but I've never really looked for them there.

 

[wheelsandwhales]

Thank you so much for the encouraging replies and very helpful information! It sounds like it will be enjoyable just to look and hopefully we will be lucky (and certainly see other birds and different geese). I will look at the ebird map. What a great resource.