A fenced-off sanctuary for geese on the south coast of England has been reopened to the public after the birds spurned it in favour of a nearby golf course.
Castle Field in Southsea, Hampshire, was intended to become a potential refuge for brent geese throughout the winter months.
Decoy birds and automated goose calls were set up in the area to entice the birds in, but they never showed up. Instead the geese flocked to a nearby pitch-and-putt golf course and Portsmouth Cricket Club.
Castle Field was nominated as a potential goose sanctuary while the nearby Clarence Playing Field was being used for sea defence works.
Natural England, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), required the local council to make provision for the birds, which arrive in large numbers from Siberia every October.
However, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said the field’s use will now be reviewed ahead of next winter.
It is expected the site will be fenced off each winter to allow the sea works to be maintained and the geese to shelter.
The £131m project to strengthen the sea defences is expected to be finished by 2026 and involves extensive remodelling of the coastline.
