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.
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 that they were probably 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 – naturalized established species). Barnacle Geese 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: 1st December 2024