Centre in Stara Zagora. After months of careful cares the bird recovered fully and its feathers grew. The examinations in the beginning of January showed that it is in a perfect state and ready for release. The red-breasted goose had been kept illegally in a private house in Kavarna where its flying feathers were clipped (in order not to be able to fly). On 19th February 2014 the bird was confiscated and transported to the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Centre by a BSPB team. Its release in the winter of 2014 was impossible because it takes months for growing again of the flying feathers. This caused its retention in the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding.
In the preparation for the bird release it was tagged not only with the standard metal rings but also with a satellite. This will give opportunity to trace the flight of the rare species to its faraway nests in the tundra. The transmitter sends the coordinates of the bird per every 8 hours. Thus it could be composed exact enough “map” of the location of the bird and its migration, as well as valuable information could be obtained for the species, which is necessary for its more effective preservation. The observations from the first two days show that the bird has joined the other geese at the Durankulak Lake, spends the night at the water site and feeds in the surroundings of the lake.
The story of the tagged red-breasted goose repeats almost exactly the story from the children’s book which Green Balkans published in 2014 and which tells the story of the male goose Brent. That’s why the tagged goose was named with the same name. In the book Brent flew over 6000 km. to Bulgaria where it meets a lot of trials (in the same way as the real red-breasted goose). In the children’s story as in the real story Brent falls in the hands of environmentalists who take care of it and then it was freed to take its long journey to its home place in Siberia.
We hope that the bird will adapt successfully after its long stay “in retention”, it will allow us to collect valuable data for its movements and that it will reach the tundra successfully. Let’s cross fingers for Brent!
Continue to follow the story of the male red-breasted goose here.
You can learn more for the species of the red-breasted goose and why it is so valuable on our website for the species http://greenbalkans.org/branta/bg/
Green Balkans trace by satellite one of the rarest species in the world
