Record number of barnacle geese arrive in Dumfries and Galloway

Barnacle geese are black and white birds with a call that sounds like a barking dog Credit: RSPB

Record numbers of barnacle geese have arrived in Dumfries and Galloway this autumn to stay for the winter.

The geese have been recorded at the Mersehead RSPB nature reserve, rising from a peak count of 10,035 last year to 11,070 in October.

The birds spend winter at sites along the Solway, and are a sign that the population continues to grow after a decrease in numbers following the Second World War.

Barnacle geese are black and white birds with a call that sounds like a barking dog.

Credit: PSPB

They stay at sites around the Solway before returning to their Arctic breeding grounds 2,000 miles away in Svalbard in the spring.

Credit: RSPB

The warden at Mersehead RSPB reserve said: