Suche
Arctic wild geese conquer the Lower Rhine: a winter wonder!
Hundreds of thousands of wild geese are returning to the Lower Rhine from Siberia. Learn more about their wintering and viewing opportunities.
Arctic wild geese conquer the Lower Rhine: a winter wonder!
A fascinating natural spectacle unfolds on the Lower Rhine! Hundreds of thousands of Arctic wild geese have started their journey from Siberia and Scandinavia and have already arrived in the region between Duisburg and Nijmegen in the Netherlands. These impressive birds choose the Lower Rhine as their largest resting area in Western Europe, where they prepare for the cold winter season.
The first white-fronted geese were spotted in mid-October, mingling with the local greylag geese. Janna Nielen from the Nabu Nature Conservation Station Lower Rhine explains that the wild geese overwinter in the large grassland areas of the Lower Rhine near the river. These areas, especially the Düffel, Kellener Altrhein and the river marshes bird sanctuaries, offer the geese optimal conditions to recover from the long journey.
Optimal conditions for the wild geese
The mild weather on the Lower Rhine attracts wild geese because the cold temperatures in their Scandinavian breeding areas and the heavy snow make it difficult for them to feed. “Here you will find large, open and connected grassland areas that are almost ideal wintering areas,” says Nielen. Many thousands of geese are expected by mid-December, including larger flocks of tundra bean geese, greylag geese and barnacle geese.