I tossed up whether to write about fauna or flora, mammals or geese. As many geese are now flying over in their V formations heading for our lakes and larger ponds; they won. If you have ever visited the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge the best time of year is between November and March to see many of the winter migrants. According to my RSPB bird book there are about 11 geese that either live here or migrate in for the winter. Some are escapees from collections such as the rare Snow Goose.

Commonly at Bodenham Lake or Titley Pool in Herefordshire, the most geese are the largest and noisiest are the Canadian geese that honk loudly. Also, the greylag goose is a common one and often in the south field at Bodenham they congregate under the trees and are quite upset if you disturb them and they all slide back into the water. They are migratory geese, many from Iceland but some now breed and stay in the UK. However, my favourite is the barnacle goose, sadly not found in these parts although there are a few pockets of breeding flocks in the UK.  Most barnacles breed beyond the Arctic Circle and the ones found in the Western Isles of Scotland come from Greenland. Whilst on the French canals I came across a friendly barnacle that was resident there. They are an attractive goose with a black and white outlook and grey wings with distinctive barring across the wings and back. They are vegetarians and like fresh grass and sometimes are in competition with the grazing animals, such as sheep. I suppose one could say they are a medium to small goose in size and make more of a barking, yapping sound rather than a true honk. At Slimbridge they have some resident birds that have become tame and have been known to feed from the hand with the grain brought from the shop. It makes them very endearing. There are lovely myths and legends from ancient times as there was no understanding about migration and it is thought they developed from barnacles from the sea hence their name.