Improving foraging habitat for geese
Our Loch Lomond nature reserve and the surrounding area is a key wintering location for Greenland White-fronted Geese. We’ve purchased a low-ground-pressure tractor which will enable us to cut dense vegetation to optimise the foraging habitat for the geese.
Tractor time! Creating better goose habitat at Loch Lomond using specialist new machinery
In August 2021, work at Loch Lomond to improve the habitat for wintering geese commenced after delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Around 1% of the global population of Greenland white-fronted geese spend their winter at RSPB Loch Lomond. The reserve is within the Loch Lomond Special Protection Area (SPA), which is designated to help protect this habitat for the rare geese and other wintering birds. The geese prefer short vegetation to feed and roost in, which requires management to prevent plants like reed and sedge becoming too dense.
Many areas of the wetland at Loch Lomond are inaccessible with conventional machinery and so a new approach was required to cut sections of the reserve for the geese. Through the LIFE 100% for Nature project, we purchased a tractor with specialist Soucy-tracks. These are low-ground pressure tracks that stop the tractor from sinking into the boggy areas and reduce the impact of the tractor on the sensitive habitat. We plan to cut, and remove some of the vegetation, in sections of the site between August and October each year of the project to 2024. We hope that this will help increase the amount of good quality habitat available for the geese during their stay at Loch Lomond.
Watch our video to find out more and see the tractor in action on a damp day at Loch Lomond!
If you’d like to know more about White-fronted Geese and how to manage your land or nature reserve to support them, simply download our free, detailed guide here.