Montrose rolls out the red carpet for pink-footed guests
Montrose will next month celebrate the return of its most numerous annual visitors with the return of the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s GooseFest.
The event follows the successful debut of GooseFest last year, timed to coincide with the return of pink-footed geese to the Montrose Basin Nature Reserve.
Tens of thousands of the birds travel from Iceland to the east coast every year, making for one of Scotland’s greatest natural spectacles.
The peak was in 2016, when 90,000 were recorded on the Basin.
From October 1-11, SWT will mark the occasion with a series of special events at Montrose Basin Visitor Centre and throughout the town.
Events include ‘Pink Sunset’ evenings, where visitors can watch the geese arrive at the Basin, a talk about how goose populations have changed over the years and how conservationists undertake the daunting task of counting so many birds at once.
The Basin visitor centre will also be open late on selected dates, including for an Optics Fair on Sunday, October 4, when visitors will be able to view the geese using night vision and thermal scopes.
On the same day, the trust is partnering up with the National Trust for Scotland for a morning goose watch followed by breakfast at the House of Dun.
Joanna Peaker, visitor centre site manager, said: “Watching thousands of birds coming in to land against the stunning backdrop of a setting sun is truly a sight to behold. We’ve long celebrated this incredible natural spectacle, but last year was even more special as almost 1,000 visitors joined over 70,000 geese for our first ever GooseFest.
“This year’s celebrations are set to be even better, with a host of new partners and events. There is already a sense of excitement that is only set to grow as the geese start to arrive in the coming weeks. The local community has taken the festival into its heart, and we’re delighted to see everyone from schoolchildren to business owners embracing our feathered friends.”
The town will also support GooseFest in a variety of ways. Several local schools will host Pink Foot Friday on October 2, where staff and pupils will be encouraged to mimic their annual visitors by wearing pink socks or shoes.
The schoolchildren will also spend the coming weeks colouring in over 1,000 goose templates for display in local shops and other businesses.
On Thursday October 1, the Montrose Playhouse will show ‘The Big Year’, in which Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson play three birders trying to count as many birds as possible over a year.
Montrose Library will run a special bird-themed Bookbug session on Friday 2 October, then, on Friday 9 October, the Funky Wee Teapot ceramic studio and café is hosting an evening event at which guests can paint their own goose pottery.
Laura Jones, acting head teacher, Ferryden Primary School, said, “We are looking forward to celebrating this year as a whole school after a successful first GooseFest last year. The children enjoyed learning about the pink-footed geese, a very pink assembly, and then trying to spot their own goose in the local shop windows.”