|
Branta leucopsis - Barnacle Goose Barnacle Geese breed in the Arctic during summer, but overwinter in Ireland, Northern Britain, Germany and the Netherlands. |
|
|
|
|
|
Arriving in October the entire population of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago spend the winter along the Solway Firth, the majority within Dumfries and Galloway. |
|
|
Svarlbard Barnacle Goose |
Barnacle Geese are so named because in the past people believed that the birds, who suddenly arrived, seemingly from nowhere, in the Autumn, and disappeared just as mysteriously in the Spring, actually hatched from Barnacles along the seashore! When Britain was Roman Catholic this interesting story had some practical advantages, Barnacle Geese were considered 'fish' rather than 'fowl' and therefore could be eaten on Fridays! The geese feed on grasses, clover and seeds, grazing in huge flocks along the Merse, on pasture grassland and occasionally on winter cereal crops. In the past Barnacle Geese were seriously persecuted and many were killed to protect crops, for food and for sport. Barnacle Geese are now protected by European Law, with protection extending both to their summer breeding grounds and to their wintering grounds along the Solway Firth. Large areas of Merse lie within nature reserves and local farmers are compensated for any losses caused by the geese. Barnacle Goose numbers on the Solway have risen from less than 300 fifty years ago, to over 23,000 today. |
|
Photo - D. Heward |
|
