Barnacle Goose

A small goose with a creamy-white face and a black neck and breast. Its silver-grey back has fine black-and-white barring. Originally a bird of remote Arctic islands, it has recently established breeding populations in the Netherlands and the Baltic region. Most are still winter visitors to Northwest Europe.

Barnacle Geese are highly social and gather in massive winter flocks of several thousand birds. They graze on coastal salt marshes and pastures. Their call is a short, sharp 'yap' like a small dog. In the Arctic, they nest on high cliff ledges. Day-old goslings must leap dozens of metres down to the grass below.