The Barnacle Goose is much rarer in Dorset than its cousins, the Canada and Brent Geese. Indeed, many records are probably feral birds that have escaped from collections.
However, in colder winters small numbers arrive as far south as Dorset. Another Arctic breeding species the Barnacles tend to over winter on the Solway Firth in southern Scotland and on the east coat of Ireland.
Often they keep the company of Canada Geese and Brent Geese but somehow also keep their distance from their cousins.
The key identifying feature of the Barnacle Goose is its white face.It is a little smaller than a Canada Goose but larger than the Brent.
The early Irish people could not work out how these birds could disappear in the summer and appear again in the autumn and they formed an association with sea Barnacles and thought that they hatched out from the Barnacles that grew on the rocks, hence the name Barnacle Goose!
However, in colder winters small numbers arrive as far south as Dorset. Another Arctic breeding species the Barnacles tend to over winter on the Solway Firth in southern Scotland and on the east coat of Ireland.
Often they keep the company of Canada Geese and Brent Geese but somehow also keep their distance from their cousins.
The key identifying feature of the Barnacle Goose is its white face.It is a little smaller than a Canada Goose but larger than the Brent.
The early Irish people could not work out how these birds could disappear in the summer and appear again in the autumn and they formed an association with sea Barnacles and thought that they hatched out from the Barnacles that grew on the rocks, hence the name Barnacle Goose!
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