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Capsule Based upon resighting histories of marked individuals, a high level of site loyalty was found for Greenland White-fronted Geese staging in Icelandic stopover areas in spring and autumn. Aims To determine levels of within-and between-season staging site fidelity, to assess whether offspring adopt the staging areas of their parents and to determine relationships between Icelandic staging areas and winter provenance of individuals. Methods Sequential resighting histories and recoveries (2658 observations) of 415 different individually marked geese were analysed from the period 1986-99. Results In spring, >90% of goslings associated with parents and siblings and all goslings were subsequently seen <4 km from where they were first sighted with parents in spring. Ninety-six percent of all multiple within-spring resightings of 192 marked individuals were within 4 km of each other; three geese moved 88 km from the southern to the western staging areas. Four percent of the 45 marked geese seen in two consecutive springs and none of the 27 birds seen in consecutive autumns moved more than 4 km between years. By contrast, significantly more (12%) moved greater than 4 km in subsequent seasons between spring/autumn (n = 56) and autumn/spring (n = 49). All these individuals shifted to Hvanneyri Agricultural College in autumn, the only declared hunting-free area for Greenland White-fronted Geese. Based upon resighting histories and recoveries of shot birds, Scottish wintering birds were more likely to use southern staging areas, and Wexford (Ireland) wintering birds were generally more likely to be seen staging in the western lowlands in Iceland. Conclusions Given the apparent cultural reinforcement of patterns of use of staging areas in Iceland, the high levels of site loyalty and the relatively limited exchange between southern and western staging areas, we argue for strategic refuge designation throughout both staging areas to protect the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]