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Some Greylag Geese Migrate One Year and Stay the Next

Greylag Goose in Moenchbruch nature reserve, Germany
Research: Behaviour, Ecology

A Greylag Goose that leaves for the winter need not do so every year. Among 21 GPS-tracked Greylag Geese (Anser anser) at Lake Neusiedl, four switched between migration and remaining in the region from one year to another.

Researchers followed the geese during 2018–2025 around Neusiedler See–Seewinkel National Park, near the Austrian–Hungarian border. Greylag Geese are partially migratory: some birds in a population leave, while others remain in the region year-round. The question was whether this also represents a fixed divide between individual birds.

The GPS tracks showed that 20 of the 21 geese migrated in at least one year. Only one remained resident throughout its tracking period. Most birds followed across several years were consistent in whether they migrated. The four that switched nevertheless show that a goose need not remain either a migrant or a resident for the rest of its life.

Winter Destinations From Germany to Sardinia

The migrants did not all follow the same pattern. Winter destinations stretched from Germany to Sardinia, and birds differed in how far they travelled, when they left and how long they stayed away.

To distinguish migration from more local movements, the researchers considered the whole annual pattern, including distance from the breeding area and time spent away. This revealed different migration habits even among geese breeding in the same region.

Why some birds switched between migrating and staying remains an open question. The study chiefly shows that fairly stable individual habits can coexist with the flexibility to change them.

Sources and image credit

  1. Common, L. K., Jain, V., Cimadom, A., Grabenhofer, H., Kleindorfer, S., & Sumasgutner, P. (2026). Characterizing partial migration using GPS tracking: high individual consistency in greylag geese. Journal of Avian Biology, 2026(5), e03568.Primary open-access research article first published 21 September 2026. GPS data from 21 wild Greylag Geese tracked around Lake Neusiedl during 2018–2025 were used to classify annual movement strategies and individual consistency.

Image: Greylag Goose (Anser anser) in Mönchbruch nature reserve, Hesse, Germany, 1 March 2026. Photo: NorbertNagel / Wikimedia Commons. Representative image; not a study bird. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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