| Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis (Bechstein, 1803)) |
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Scientific name: Branta leucopsis (Bechstein, 1803) Common name: Barnacle Goose French name: Bernache nonnette Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Size: Body size: 55 to 70 cm; Wingspan: 130 to 145 cm; Weight: 1300 to 2400 g Habitat: Cliffs and rocky coasts in summer, damp meadows, coastal marshes and mudflats in winter. Food: Grasses, mainly near the coast where they are regularly covered at high tide. Nesting: Barnacle Gooses nest in colonies, on the ground, on cliffs close to the sea. There are 3 to 5 eggs per clutch. Migration: Barnacle Gooses move southwards in winter to Scotland, to Ireland, to the Netherlands and to Germany, seldom further south. Geographic area: Islands in the north of the Atlantic Ocean. There are three different populations, the first one in eastern Greenland, the second one in Svalbard and the third one in Novaya Zemlya. These three populations do not mix and winter in different areas. |
The Barnacle Goose shows a small white head and black neck and chest. The upper part of the body is grey with black bars, the lower part is pale grey. The rump is white. The small triangular bill and the short legs are black. |
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Small observation on the road side, waiting to be able to shoot front view pictures … |
André Bon January 2020