FARMERS IN Caithness have been told to be aware of the arrival of rare white-fronted geese, which come from Greenland during our winter months.

NFU Scotland, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and RSPB issued a joint statement warning farmers and landowners not to shoot these geese, as they are a protected species.

A leaflet has been produced by the three organisations which they hope will help landowners and farmers to identify the different types of geese found in Caithness.

RSPB Scotland's Alison Searl said: "Greenland white-fronted geese are a protected species that are in rapid decline. A small but very important population of these geese regularly spend the winter months on farmland in Caithness.

"The adults have a very distinctive white blaze of feathers around the bill and black-streaked under-parts. With a reasonable view, the adults can be easily distinguished from the much more common greylag and pink-footed geese that also spend their winters in Caithness.

"Unlike Greenland white-fronted geese, these two species are legal quarry, when in season. The juvenile white-fronted geese, however, lack the distinctive markings of the adults and could quite easily be mistaken for these other types of geese and accidentally shot by wildfowlers.

"We want to raise awareness of their presence to avoid any possibility of this happening, as every extra accidental death really matters in this threatened population."

NFU Scotland's Ian Wilson added: "The farmland of Caithness is rich in wildlife and local farmers are proud that it provides a refuge for these special birds during the cold months when they migrate here from the Arctic.

"We fully support the advice that BASC and RSPB Scotland are providing to help our members stay within the law and prevent the accidental shooting of any Greenland white-fronted geese."

Copies of the leaflets are available from RSPB Scotland’s Golspie office, telephone 01408 634404, and from BASC at scotland@basc.org.uk, or telephone 01350 723226, or from the NFUS office at 4 Brabster Street, Thurso.