Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis
Fairly common but localised feral population. Has bred as a feral bird since the late 1980s, with a large population now established on the Humber (most nesting in Yorkshire). Wild birds are scarce but erratic winter visitors, mainly to the coast.
Barnacle Geese on the south Humber bank on January 31st 2017 (Graham Catley).
The true status of Barnacle Goose in Lincolnshire has become difficult to gauge with the development of a substantial feral breeding colony many hundred pairs strong based around Whitton Sands on the Yorkshire side of the Humber. These birds undoubtedly move around Lincolnshire and several pairs breed on the south bank of the Humber too. Counts of up to 2000 birds have been made in the Alkborough Flats/Whitton area in recent winters. What are thought to be genuine birds from the Svalbard population that winters in the Netherlands and Germany still occur, escaping (increasingly rare) hard winters on the continent. These frequently accompany flocks of Russian White-fronted Geese, Anser albifrons albifrons and tend to turn up and feed in the fields along the North Sea facing coast. There is ringing evidence to support this. However, the booming feral population in Netherlands and Germany may contribute to what we perceive as “wild” influxes.
(Account as per new Birds of Lincolnshire (2021), included September 2022)