Country diary: These 'mystery' geese and I have a fond history | Nick Acheson

Holkham, Norfolk: They're noisy and boisterous and should by rights be breeding in Siberia, not eastern England. But I'm delighted they're hereBarnacle geese in Norfolk still surprise me. In my childhood, tiny numbers from the Siberian population visited, but only in the cruellest spells of winter. Even though I know that they breed in Norfolk now, seeing 700 of them over Holkham Park today is oddly jarring.I hear them first, as I tiptoe past an angry pair of cheese-beaked greylags to admire a cherry plum in bloom. I register their breathy, barking calls. Ah yes, the barnacles are back. Continue reading...