Where to see pink-footed geese in the UK this winter

When do pink-footed geese come to the UK?

Pink-footed geese breed in Iceland and Greenland and spend the winter here. The BTO says they arrive in September and stay into April or May, and that the whole of the Icelandic and east Greenland breeding population winters in Britain.

They don't all arrive at once, and they don't stay in one place. The first big numbers land in Scotland and Lancashire, then many move on south. Norfolk fills up later:

• Scotland: at Montrose Basin in 2023 the first pinkies were recorded on 5 September, and the year's peak, 46,705 geese, was counted on 15 October.
• Lancashire: WWT Martin Mere says peak numbers arrive from mid October to mid November, then fall as the geese move south.
• Norfolk: Holkham Estate says the geese start to arrive in September and build up to a peak in December.

So for the biggest numbers, go north in October and to Norfolk from late November.

Where do pink-footed geese go in winter?

The BTO says the whole of the Icelandic and east Greenland breeding population winters in Britain. They spread across Scotland, Lancashire and Norfolk, with big flocks at the sites below. WWT Martin Mere says numbers there fall after the mid-November peak as the geese move south, and Holkham says Norfolk peaks in December.

When do pink-footed geese leave the UK?

The BTO says they stay into April or May, before flying back to Iceland and Greenland to breed. So the winter flocks, including the one at Snettisham, are there from autumn into spring.

What time of day is best to see pink-footed geese?

The RSPB's advice is early mornings and late afternoons, when the flocks are commuting between their roosts and their feeding grounds. The geese spend the night on the water or the mudflats, fly out at first light to feed on the fields, and come back at dusk.

Get there before first light for the morning flight. You'll hear them before you see them. At Snettisham, the RSPB says, the high-pitched wink-wink of the geese calling to each other carries across the seascape as they take off in close V-shaped skeins.

The evening flight is easier to plan around, and just as good. Watch the sky inland for the skeins coming back as the light goes.

Where can you see pink-footed geese in the UK?

Norfolk

• RSPB Snettisham. The RSPB says up to 30,000 pink-footed geese gather on The Wash in winter, and at first light they take off in close V-shaped formations.
• Holkham. The geese roost on the marshes at Holkham and at traditional sites such as Wells East Hills and Scolt Head. Holkham Estate reported a winter high of about 47,000 in 2025 to 2026. Its record is 90,000, in 2006. Holkham also notes that around a full moon the geese feed at night and roost by day, which is when its marshes hold the most.

Lancashire

• WWT Martin Mere. The BTO names Lancashire as one of the main wintering areas, and Martin Mere is a place to watch the geese come in to roost. The peak is from mid October to mid November.

Scotland

• Montrose Basin, Angus. Run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, with a visitor centre overlooking the basin. The Trust says the geese are best seen at dawn and dusk, and in big years more than 80,000 roost there.
• RSPB Loch of Strathbeg, Aberdeenshire. Britain's largest dune loch, and a winter home for vast numbers of pink-footed geese, which roost on the loch and feed in the fields nearby.

Why do pink-footed geese go to Norfolk?

Norfolk's geese are there largely for one crop. Holkham Estate says it's the fields of freshly harvested sugar beet that the geese home in on, for the discarded leaves and tops.

How many pink-footed geese are there?

The BTO puts the UK's wintering population at 510,000 birds (2015 to 2016), and says numbers rose by 96% between 1998 and 2023. Pink-footed geese are on the Amber List of birds of conservation concern.

Watching and photographing them

• Arrive early and stay put. Be in place before first light for the dawn flight, and stand still under the line the geese take.
• Don't push feeding flocks. Every time a flock lifts, the geese lose feeding time. Stay on footpaths and watch from a distance.
• Wrap up. Dawn on the north Norfolk coast in December is cold and often windy.
• For photos, a wide lens and a high shutter speed work for skeins against a dawn sky. A longer lens is better for feeding flocks, from the path or the car.