In the current srudy yhe aim is to follow greylag geese which have been attached VHF radio transmitters to their neck-collars. The aim is to radiotrack these individuals of greylag geese in the national park of Doñana and its surroundings during the winter season. We want to follow these geese local movements within the park and in the surroundings of the park. In this study we are interested in studying which parts of Doñana the greylag geese are concentrating during the wintertime. We are interested knowing how long time they spend in each specific area of the wetland and other areas of Doñana and its surroundings during the winter season. In that way we are hopeful to get an estimate about how much time the geese spent in areas where there still is quite hifh levels of heavy metals in the soil. This study of local use and movement within Doñana national park and its surroundings is aimed to be done in connection with another study, where the purpose is to measure the levels of heavy metals in greylag geese overwintering in Doñana and breeding in the Scandinavian countries. The title of that project is The fate of heavy metals originating from the accident at the Los Frailes mine, Aznalcollar, southern Spain: a study on the Greylag Goose Anser anser.
Thus, the aim of the project is to make radiotracking on greylag geese in Doñana. These are greylag geese where the radiotransmittors (of hte VHF-type) was attached in Norway, on two islands Heroÿ and Vega, in the summer of 2001. We are also interest to follow the geese in a larger context, i.e. the migration of the geese through the atlantic flyway, from breeding territoties in Scandinavia through staging areas in Netherlands -and a part of the Swedish geese population stays here in the winter- and to the winter quarters in Spain.