Winter is upon us now with around 6000 barnacle geese on the Island. While they are amazing to watch, its good to remember that it's not just the barnacle geese that arrive on Islay each Autumn.
(Mike Andrews)
These light bellied brent geese arrive from as far away as eastern Canada to Islay, and most only stop here to re-fuel before going on to their wintering grounds in Ireland. There were113 on RSPB Loch Gruinart this morning.
( Theresa Morris, http://www.islaywildscapes.blogspot.co.uk/2014_10_01_archive.html)
The whooper swans, also en-route to Ireland, stop off for a much needed rest on Islay. There were a flock of 88 on the pastures of RSPB Loch Gruinart yesterday.
Theresa Morris is on holiday on Islay at the moment, and has been lucky enough to capture the past week new arrivals while exploring Islay. Have a look at her blog for some amazing photos of this exciting time of year.
No October blog post, despite whatever the title suggests, is complete without a picture of the Barnacle geese. Thanks Theresa.