Barnacle 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.
