Unidentified Grey Geese Anser sp.
OCCURRENCE
Carey et al. (2001) listed seven records of unidentified grey geese, as follows.
1965: 17 at Mai Po on 20 December.
1969: two at Mai Po on 8 November.
1970: four at Mai Po on 1 November and 32 there on 6 December.
1971: three at Tai Lam Chung on 26 November.
1972: four at Mai Po on 5 March.
1976: nine at Mai Po on 1 November.
1980: four at San Tin on 15 November.
The earliest reports of Tundra Bean Goose A. serrirostris in the region were by Swinhoe (1860) who stated it occurred in ‘immense flocks’ in winter at Xiamen. La Touche (1892, 1931-34) stated that Bean Goose A. fabalis was ‘abundant...at Swatow’ (Shantou) on the border of Guangdong and Fujian, arriving about the end of November and departing before the end of February. He also stated that A. serrirostris was ‘by far the commonest of all the wild Geese’ in southeast China, and that A. fabalis occurred on the marshes ‘of the coast of North Guangdong’ (presumably referring to Shantou).
Deng (1962) estimated that 40,000 to 60,000 Tundra Bean Goose occurred in eastern Guangdong from early November to mid-March. He described how a team of researchers from Guangzhou noted the damage caused by the birds to agriculture and devised a scheme to trap the geese and produce canned meat for export. This appears to have been responsible for the loss of the large regional wintering population. For further details see Lewthwaite (2012).
In HK, comments and reports from hunters in the 1930s such as ‘not a single goose was seen by us this season...’ (Pereira 1936), and ‘Saw a single goose shot...’ (Pereira 1938) suggest that at least occasional sightings of geese were then expected. However, it is obvious from the above records and anecdotal reports that while grey geese have not, for nearly one hundred years, been common in the Pearl River Delta, there has been a decline in numbers.
Carey, G. J., M. L. Chalmers, D. A. Diskin, P. R. Kennerley, P. J. Leader, M. R. Leven, R. W. Lewthwaite, D. S. Melville, M. Turnbull and L. Young (2001). The Avifauna of Hong Kong. Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, Hong Kong.
Deng, J. X. (1962). Ecological observations and hunting of the Bean Goose Anser fabalis serrirostris and Common Teal Anas crecca along the coast of Shantou (Guangdong Province). Acta Scientarium Naturalium Universitatis Sunyatseni 2: 71-81 (in Chinese).
La Touche, J. D. D. (1892). On Birds collected or observed in the Vicinity of Foochow and Swatow in South-eastern China. Ibis 1892: 400-430, 477-503.
La Touche, J. D. D. (1931-34). Handbook of the birds of Eastern China Vol. 2. Taylor and Francis, London.
Lewthwaite, R.W. (2012). Tundra Bean Goose Anser serrirostris at Mai Po NR. The first Hong Kong record with notes on its historical status on the coast of Fujian and Guangdong. Hong Kong Bird Report 2009-10: 235-240
Pereira, R.A. (1936). Notes and Comments. Ornithology. Hong Kong Naturalist 7: 203-206.
Pereira, R.A. (1938). Notes and Comments. Ornithology. Hong Kong Naturalist 8: 290-293.
Swinhoe, R. (1861). Notes on the ornithology of Hong Kong, Macao and Canton, made during the latter end of February, March, April and the beginning of May 1860. Ibis 1861: 23-57.
