Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis (Bechstein, 1803)
Holt Bay, Blagdon Lake © Nigel Milbourne 2012
Very scarce, introduced resident, passage migrant & winter visitor. May occur in any month.
Population information:
GB Overwinter (naturalised) population estimate 2017/18 to 2022/23: 5,100. Caulfield et al. (2026).
Only a single bird from 7th November to 13th December 1959 “may well have been wild” according to the Report on Somerset Birds and Bristol Bird Report, 1959. However, Bernard King later inferred local birds were probably ‘naturalised’ individuals from the Wildfowl Trust, Slimbridge.
All other records of Barnacle Goose at the lake are likely to have been from established populations resulting from introduction by man (BOU Category C2 – naturalised established species). Barnacle Geese used to occur in small numbers at the lake, usually feeding with Canada Geese Branta canadensis, the peak count being 23 in 2011. During the last decade occurrences have become less frequent.
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Bibliography (sources of information):
- Davis, H.H. (ed.). Bristol Bird Report, 1959. Bristol Naturalists’ Society.
- British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) website
- British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) website
- Savory, H. (ed.). Report on Somerset Birds, 1959. Somersetshire Archaeol. & Nat. Hist. Soc.
Last update: 3rd February 2026