Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis (Bechstein, 1803)
(Uncommon IR & WV)
Barnacle Goose, Holt Bay. 9th Feb 2012.
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 it was probably from the Wildfowl Trust, Slimbridge. All other records of Barnacle Goose at the lake are considered 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.
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.