Record number of Barnacle Geese arrive in Dumfries and Galloway

RSPB Scotland's Mersehead reserve holds a record number of Barnacle Geese this autumn, topping 1,000 more than last winter's peak.

Numbers of the species have risen from a peak count of 10,035 last year to 11,070 in October. The count is a great indicator that the Solway population of Barnacle Geese is continuing to recover after reaching a low point of around 400 birds just after the Second World War.

Barnacle Geese are a delicate, black-and-white wildfowl species, with a call that sounds a little like a dog barking. They winter at sites around the Solway before returning to their Arctic breeding grounds some 2,000 miles away in Svalbard, Norway, in the spring.

One or two ‘white’ geese have also been picked out from with the Mersehead flock, showing evidence of 'leucism'. Similar to albinism, birds with this condition have extremely pale, almost white, plumage, but unlike true albinos, which are extremely rare in the wild, they have black eyes, beaks and legs. Only two leucistic Barnacle Geese have been seen at Mersehead this autumn, though in previous years up to four have been noted.

Some of the 11,070 Barnacle Geese counted at Mersehead RSPB this October (Robert Dove).

RSPB Scotland's warden at Mersehead, Rowena Flavelle, said: “It’s great to see the geese back, and fantastic to see the population doing so well. We always look forward to seeing them on the reserve, and when you hear them coming in you know that autumn has well and truly arrived.

"We see the leucistic geese every year, and although they’re in very small numbers they really stand out. We get loads of questions from our visitors about them, and people often think they’ve seen Snow Geese. They’re very beautiful and it’s a real treat to spot them.”

Over 5,000 Pink-footed Geese have also been seen at Mersehead this autumn, along with several hundred each of Northern Pintail and Whooper Swan. The Solway Barnacle Geese have always been a hot-spot to find vagrant (wild) Canada and Cackling Geese, although none have yet been seen yet this year.

Mersehead is open till dusk each day, and guided duck and goose walks take place until 6 December. For more details, visit www.rspb.org.uk/mersehead

Barnacle Goose is a small, black-and-white goose that winters in Scotland and Ireland in large numbers (Lee Brown).