A 40-year Monitoring Study of the Snow Goose Anser caerulescens in Akita Prefecture during Winter

Abstract

By the 1940s, the Snow Goose Anser caerulescens was considered to be extinct in Japan. From 1970 to 1993, it was recorded as an irregular visitor in Honshu, while from 1969 to 1991 twelve geese were recorded in Hokkaido. In 1993, an international project was carried out to restore the Far East population of the Snow Goose. We had monitored the number of Snow Geese at Ogata Reclaimed Land, Akita Prefecture, for 40 winter seasons from 1971/72 to 2010/11. This species had been recorded as an irregular visitor until the 1990/91 season. Since 1993, when the restoration project started, this species has been recorded regularly, and the number of individuals has shown a general increase, reaching 39 individuals in 2010/11. They were observed mainly along the west channel of Hachiro-gata, and 728 foraging sites were recorded in this area.