Barnacle Goose breeding in Iceland

Helsingi – Barnacle goose – Branta leucopsis

The Barnacle Goose has started breeding in Iceland.  The main breeding area is in Southeast Iceland. The first known breeding of Barnacle Geese was in East-Skaftafellssýsla in 1988. Now they have become quite common in some areas such as Hornafjörður and Glacier Lagoon.  They migrate to the British Isles for the winter.

However, most of the Barnacle Geese that come by Iceland only have a short stopover on their way to and from their breeding grounds in Northeastern Greenland.