Snow Goose in the Deepings

Christmas Eve was a beautifully sunny day. A large grey-goose influx was underway nationally and a message on our local birding WhatsApp group reported the presence of Tundra Bean and Russian White-fronted Geese among a flock of Whooper Swans east of Peterborough. Inspired by this news, I decided to divert the fen way home from Bourne after meeting a friend for an afternoon drink.

On this cold midwinter afternoon, the sun was already sinking towards the horizon as I crossed the River Glen at Tongue End. Happily, before me in fields to the south, was a sizeable flock of swans – exactly what I was hoping for! A quick scan with the bins revealed a handful of grey geese among them and I knew my luck was in. Three Tundra Bean and a couple of Russian White-fronted Geese felt like a very pleasing result for some off-the-cuff roadside birding.

Driving closer, and after enjoying some decent views of the geese, I decided to scan the Whoopers in the hope that I might pick up my first Bewick's Swans of the winter. What I did not bet on seeing halfway through the flock was the unmistakable head of a white-morph Snow Goose poking out from behind a mass of swans! 'Hang on a minute,' I thought. 'Surely not?'

I took my eye away from the scope, collected my thoughts for a couple of seconds and looked back down the eyepiece. Yep, there really was a Snow Goose standing there with its head still raised, ogling back at me. The obligatory expletives were uttered under my breath before I figured out the next move. Clearly, getting photos was a priority, but it felt important to check that it wasn't simply some farmyard-style imposter. After a bit of manoeuvring, both from me and the swans, I had seen the entirety of the bird and confirmed that black existed where black was meant to be and that the legs were seemingly unringed.

Initial documentation shot of the Snow Goose (centre) with Whooper Swans at Tongue End on Christmas Eve.

Slightly closer views of the bird after sunset on Christmas Eve.

Tundra Bean and Russian White-fronted Geese, Tongue End, 26 December 2025

Snow Goose is a species that I have long flirted with the idea of seeing among local Whooper Swans, but it always felt more of a pipe dream than a realistic possibility – probably because the last record in The Fens was as long ago as 1997. However, after one arrived with Whoopers in Shetland back in October, it felt on the cards somewhere this winter. I'd even said to my colleague Sam Viles that the Shetland bird would end up in The Fens this winter. So, perhaps I shouldn't have been all that shocked to see it loitering in South Lincolnshire.

As for the bird's origin, my suspicion is that it arrived in The Fens with Whoopers at some point in the autumn (it was last seen in Shetland on 14 October) and has been lurking here ever since. Very few people bother looking at the local swan flocks with much thoroughness and it could easily have been overlooked in the intervening weeks. The bird could be hard enough to see even when we knew it was there! It just so happens that its discovery coincided with the influx of continental geese; given the Snow showed little interest in the grey geese and was clearly wedded to the Whoopers, it seems highly likely that it has been hanging out with the swans for some time.

The Snow Goose flying in to feed in fields at Tongue End shortly after sunrise on Boxing Day.