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Pink-footed geese put to flight by disturbance must compensate for the lost feeding time (and the higher energy expenditure) by spending increased time feeding in the hours following the disturbance. Pink-footed geese feeding on newly sown fields doubled their daily net energy intake when compared with pasture-feeding pink-footed geese. Converted into net energy intake per peck, the pink-footed geese on the newly sown fields had 16 times more net intake per peck as pink-footed geese on pastures. If pink-footed geese grazing on pastures in West Jutland spent the same daily amount of time flying as pink-footed geese feeding on newly sown fields (1 hour), they would not be able to compensate for their energy loss while flying, unless they increased pecking rates or the time spent feeding. The energy content of food and food availability is very important to migrant geese.