Brandgans St. Gallen

The common shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) reaches about 58 to 67 centimetres in body length and sits taxonomically between true ducks and true geese as part of the shelduck tribe Tadornini. It is essentially a coastal bird, breeding mainly along the flat sandy and mud-flat coasts of the North Sea and the western Baltic, as well as on saline and brackish steppe lakes in Asia, with a few inland breeding sites established in recent decades. The contrasting plumage, with bold chestnut breast band, dark head and red bill, rules out confusion with the huntable Anatidae.

The most striking part of the annual cycle is the moult migration. Shelducks from large parts of Europe gather in the German Wadden Sea, above all on the Großer Knechtsand sandbank between the Weser and Elbe estuaries. During the simultaneous wing moult in mid to late summer the birds shed all their flight feathers at once and remain flightless for several weeks, so a large share of the north-west European population can concentrate on very few sites. In winter some birds move on to the Netherlands, southern England and western France, while others stay along the German North Sea coast.

For hunting practice the legal situation is unambiguous: the common shelduck is today protected year-round in most northern and central European countries. In Germany, as a European bird species, it automatically falls under the special protection of section 7 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act (Bundesnaturschutzgesetz) and is not listed in the catalogue of huntable species published by the Deutscher Jagdverband. It may not be hunted. The strong concentration of moulting and wintering flocks on a small number of tidal flats also makes the species particularly sensitive to disturbance, so reliable identification and restraint along the coast and estuarine areas are essential.