A winter visitor, the well-travelled Bewick's swan is the smallest of our swans. It has more black on its yellow-and-black bill than the whooper swan. Look out for it around Eastern England…

The whooper swan is a very rare breeding bird in the UK, but has much larger populations that spend winter here after a long journey from Iceland. It has more yellow on its yellow-and-black bill…

One of our most iconic waterbirds, the mute swan is famed for its grace and beauty. It is also considered to be a romantic of the bird world because partners form a perfect love heart with their…

The Canada goose is our most familiar goose, although it is not actually native to the UK. A common and bold bird, it can be found around most parks, lakes, reservoirs and gravel pits.

The black-and-white barnacle goose flies here for the 'warmer' winter from Greenland and Svalbard. This epic journey was once a mystery to people, who thought it hatched from the goose…

Goose barnacles often wash up on our shores attached to flotsam after big storms.

The greylag goose can be easily spotted around parks, gravel pits and river valleys, but these populations tend to be semi-tame, having been reintroduced. Truly wild populations can be found in…

The pink-footed goose is a winter visitor to the UK, feeding on our wetland and farmland habitats. About 360,000 individuals spend the winter here, making it a really important destination for…

The white-fronted goose lives up to its name - look out for the white patch on its forehead and around its bill. It does not breed in the UK, but flies here from Greenland and Siberia for the…

Egyptian geese were introduced to Britain from Africa. They are now widespread in southern England.

The common scoter has suffered large declines in the UK, threatening its survival here. Look out for this duck feeding at sea in winter when its numbers are bolstered by migrating birds.