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Barnacle goose migration Branta leucopsis
Press ▶ to play the year. Glow: GBIF records per month, adjusted for observer effort. Lines: tracked individuals (Movebank).
| Scientific name | Branta leucopsis |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 108 cm |
| Adult weight | 1.788 kg (male), 1.586 kg (female) |
| IUCN status | Least concern |
| Records mapped | 881,041 (GBIF) |
| GPS / geolocator tracks | 3 birds (Movebank) |
Facts from Wikidata Q26680 (CC0).
When does the barnacle goose arrive in the UK?
Recorded in the UK in every season, so the records do not show one clear arrival date.
Bars: this species’ share of all UK bird records in GBIF (CC0/CC BY), by month, scaled to the peak month. Based on 47,493 UK records. Weekly counts from the GBIF occurrence search API (country=GB). Dates are read from records, not from a survey, so treat them as a guide.
Migration in the data
881,041 GBIF records (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 licences only) are mapped here, in 1.41° grid cells, month by month.
In Europe and Africa, the centre of the records (adjusted for observer effort) is furthest north in July (about 69°N) and furthest south in January (about 54°N).
Month by month: centre of records in Europe and Africa
| Month | Centre (latitude) | South of the Equator |
|---|---|---|
| January | 54°N | 0% |
| February | 54°N | 0% |
| March | 56°N | 0% |
| April | 60°N | 0% |
| May | 65°N | 0% |
| June | 68°N | 0% |
| July | 69°N | 0% |
| August | 68°N | 0% |
| September | 67°N | 0% |
| October | 59°N | 0% |
| November | 56°N | 0% |
| December | 54°N | 0% |
Tracked birds
- “64687”: 20 Jul 2006 – 18 Jul 2007, between 79°N and 55°N. Dataset: Kölzsch A, Bauer S, de Boer R, Griffin L, Cabot D, Exo K-M, van der Jeugd HP, Nolet BA (2014) Forecasting spring from afar? Timing of migration and predictability of phenology along different migration routes of an avian herbivore. Journal of Animal Ecology. doi:10.1111/1365-2656.12281 https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.5k6b1364 (CC0 1.0 Universal)
- “170563”: 4 Apr 2007 – 3 Apr 2008, between 78°N and 55°N. Dataset: Kölzsch A, Bauer S, de Boer R, Griffin L, Cabot D, Exo K-M, van der Jeugd HP, Nolet BA (2014) Forecasting spring from afar? Timing of migration and predictability of phenology along different migration routes of an avian herbivore. Journal of Animal Ecology. doi:10.1111/1365-2656.12281 https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.5k6b1364 (CC0 1.0 Universal)
- “78378”: 20 Mar 2008 – 20 Mar 2009, between 77°N and 55°N. Dataset: Kölzsch A, Bauer S, de Boer R, Griffin L, Cabot D, Exo K-M, van der Jeugd HP, Nolet BA (2014) Forecasting spring from afar? Timing of migration and predictability of phenology along different migration routes of an avian herbivore. Journal of Animal Ecology. doi:10.1111/1365-2656.12281 https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.5k6b1364 (CC0 1.0 Universal)
About the barnacle goose
The barnacle goose is a species of goose that belongs to the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with extensive black in the plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species. Despite its superficial similarity to the brant goose, genetic analysis has shown its closest relative is the cackling goose.
From the Wikipedia article “Barnacle goose” (revision 1369802615), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources
GBIF occurrence records, licence CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, observations only (no specimens), filtered with: taxonKey=5232464&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&hasGeospatialIssue=false&basisOfRecord=HUMAN_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=MACHINE_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=OBSERVATION. Monthly queries: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec. GBIF.org (22 October 2026) occurrence data accessed via the GBIF API; a GBIF download DOI is still to be added. Contributing datasets.