BARNACLE GEESE, OCTOBER 2025
We live way down in the southern part of Sweden.
Every year at the end of October, lots of birds regroup and prepare for migration here.
The field outside our house had corn all summer, and as soon as it was harvested, the Barnacle Geese, Vitkindad Gås in Swedish, arrived, probably for the leftover grain.
Perfect spot to fatten up before takeoff.
According to, the book above; Fåglarna (Mullarney, Svensson & Zetterström, 2011, p. 21), they migrate to Denmark, the Netherlands, and the British Isles for wintering.
The book also describes their call like this: “Talkative. A sharp, single-syllable barking ‘ka,’ which varies slightly in pitch when heard in chorus from a flock.” While they’re here, the sound is so loud, a constant, deafening chatter from the fields.
If you, like me, are a bird nerd, I recommend a few Facebook groups for your daily bird fix:
Fåglar in på knuten Swedish bird sightings and discussion.
Punk Rock Gardening & Bird Watching — started by an old-school punk who noticed many punks have turned to gardening and birdwatching.
That's all for now =)
PS. Yes that is a picture of Peter Cushing in a grave.
Listen to him talk about why his films shouldn't be called horror here. 🦇
