Geese have come under the microscope at Gartocharn Primary School.
The school has been learning about five different species of geese.
These include the Greenland White-Fronted, Greylag, Pink-footed, Canadian and Barnacle geese varieties.
This topic has been ranged from the Nursery (3-5 room) all the way throughout the primary school.
The school has been working on this topic for two weeks now, and the RSPB Loch Lomond also helped with it. Staff from RSPB were praised for their support and kindness.
“The fact that the school spent a whole two weeks mainly on the topic shows how much they care about the geese,” said Chloe Arthur of Primary 6.
Large fields with fresh grass and barely any trees surrounding it are great for all geese, but more specifically the Greenland White-Fronted geese. However, small fields with less grass and are surrounded by trees are the fields geese will not travel too.
Cliff sides or just anywhere near the water is preferred for roosting grounds. The reason behind this is because they can easily escape into the water from predators who attack them.
Duncan Flavahan from Primary 6 said: “I enjoyed the topic because I enjoyed learning about all the different geese and going on walks to where the geese like to go.”
To survive their migration, geese store up fat to be able to fly to Scotland. They fly in gaggles across land and/or seas which takes up lots of energy and fat, the main reason why they eat so much during their time in Scotland and their original country.
Lillie Sullivan from Primary 7 added: “This topic was quite fun. I enjoyed learning about geese and their behaviour.”
Climate change has also been affecting geese.
The geese are leaving to migrate later than usual because of warmer temperatures. It has also affected their migration pattern as well since it usually makes places a lot hotter creating it harder to fly through.
Fields within Gartocharn are great places for geese to feed and roost. They can be seen between October to March. Pupils regularly hear them flying over the school during these months.
