This Winter has been very unusual, with several different species of wild geese using the marsh, in front of the bird hide, at Pickerings Pasture. Besides the usual Canada geese, there have been several small parties of greylag geese, two different flocks of greater white-fronted geese and a scattering of barnacle geese.

Barnacle geese, in Cheshire, have, in the past, nearly always been regarded as escapees from wildfowl collections, but this winter, on the 28th November, a party of five barnacle geese were noted, way out on the marsh. This group was photographed by digiscoping them and, from the photographs, we noticed that two of the birds were colour-ringed, with a pale green ring on the left leg.

The details of this sighting and ring details were sent to Larry Griffin, at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, at Caerlaverock, and he replied very promptly, with the details of the probable ringing locality.

The photographs showed two adults, with three goslings, and they are definitely of Svalbard origin. The adults were probably ringed at Ny Aalesund, on Svalbard Island, about three thousand miles from us but, unfortunately, because the numbers were not visible, it was impossible to confirm the actual place or date when ringed.

The birds were probably lost on migration from their stopover location in Norway, whilst on their way to the Solway Estuary. Large flocks of over twenty thousand Barnacle geese winter in this locality each year, mainly around Caerlaverock on the Scottish side of the Estuary.

It is important, if you see a colour-ringed bird, that you make a note of the colour, which leg it is on and the numbers on the ring. A quick check on the Internet will tell you who to send the details to. You can also send us the details, via the website, if the birds are seen locally.