oie cendrée Bas-Rhin

The greylag goose breeds in extensive, nutrient-rich wetlands, including reed belts of larger lakes, oxbows, floodplain forests, moors, swamps and wet meadows with seasonal flooding. During the day the birds commute onto surrounding grassland and arable fields to feed, and in autumn and winter they make regular use of maize stubble, winter cereals and pasture. A share of the population still moves into Atlantic Western Europe and the Mediterranean for the winter, but in recent decades an increasing number of flocks remain closer to or within the breeding range.

The German breeding population had almost vanished by the middle of the twentieth century and has recovered strongly since the 1960s through reintroduction and protection. Today the greylag is clearly increasing as a breeding bird across Central Europe, which has produced growing conflicts with agriculture. Grazing damage on winter cereals, grassland and maize, together with droppings on pastures, is regularly documented, and in heavily affected regions the impact reaches significant harvest losses and unusable forage.

In practice the greylag is hunted mainly as pass shooting along the flight lines between roost waters and feeding areas, complemented by stand hunting on known feeding fields and by decoy hunting with full-body decoy spreads and goose calls on harvested fields. The greylag is regarded as highly intelligent and quick to learn, so careful concealment, a natural-looking decoy spread and realistic shooting distances are decisive for success. Ethical practice means respecting undisturbed zones at roost waters, refusing long shots and strictly observing the hunting and closed seasons that apply in each region.