Fascinating images show the record number of geese which have flocked to a Scottish reserve with more than 11,000 making their way so far.
Around 11,070 barnacle geese have been recorded at Mersehead reserve in Dumfries and Galloway this autum, rising from a peak count of 10,035 last year.
The barnacle geese are delicate black and white birds with a call a bit like a dog barking.
The numbers are a great sign that the Solway Firth population of barnacle geese is recovering after reaching a low of only 400 birds just after the Second World War.
Photo credit: Rowena Flavelle / SWNS.com
They winter around the Solway, which forms part of the border between England and Scotland, before returning to their Arctic breeding grounds 2,000 miles away.
Eagle-eyed nature lovers may also spot one or two white geese in with the flock at Mersehead.
These are barnacle geese with a condition called leucism - a mutated gene which turns them white.
Rowena Flavelle, RSPB Scotland warden at Mersehead, said: "It's great to see the geese back, and fantastic to see the population doing so well.
"We always look forward to seeing them on the reserve, and when you hear them coming in, you know that autumn has well and truly arrived.
Also flying in to Mersehead this autumn have been more than 5,000 pink-footed geese, hundreds of pintail ducks, oyster catchers, golden plovers and whooper swans.
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