The species consists of four main migrant populations that utilize various wintering and breeding grounds. These main populations number in the tens of thousands with the largest consisting of well over 100,000 individuals. Other smaller populations have been identified but these populations number only in the few thousands. The wintering grounds of all of these populations are located in the British Isles and coastal Netherlands and are separated by relatively short distances, while their breeding grounds are widely separated in the northern European arctic. These four main populations range from their wintering grounds in northern Scotland to their breeding grounds on the east coast of Greenland:

 

Greenland population: This population consists of about 45,000 individuals. Their breeding grounds are located on the ice-free coasts of East Greenland. These individuals gather mostly on cliff ledges or on small islands that are close to the shores. In September, when the weather conditions in Greenland worsen, they head for their wintering grounds on the shores and islands of northern Scotland. On their way to Scotland, they make a stop at Iceland for about four weeks and then continue their migration.

 

Svalbard population: This population consists of about 25,000 individuals. They breed on the islands of the Svalbard archipelago and the small islands that surround it. They leave Svalbard in the middle of September and make a stop on the western coast of Norway before continuing on to their wintering grounds in Solway Firth on the west coast of England. This migration path is about 2,500 to 3,000 km in distance.

 

Russian population: This population consists of over 100,000 individuals. They breed on the north-west coast of arctic Russia. This population initially wintered in Western Germany, however due to increased interruption of wintering areas in Western Germany and the creation of new grazing areas in the coastal regions of Netherlands the entire population has had to shift their wintering grounds to the Netherlands.

 

Novaya Zemlya population: This population consists of about 10,000 individuals. They breed in the archipelago islands of Novaya Zemlya off the coast of western arctic Russian mainland. They migrate to the coastal regions of Netherlands to spend the winter.

 

Additionally, it is believed that an ancient population may also have lived on the north-east coast of Canada, however currently there is insufficient data to support this hypothesis. (Clements, 2007; Gosler, 2007; Sale, 2006)

 

Biogeographic Regions: Nearctic; Nearctic :: Native; Palearctic; Palearctic :: Native

Other Geographic Terms: Holarctic