Pink-footed Geese are with us for the winter months, usually arriving in September, and leaving in the spring to return to Iceland. They get their name from their pink legs and feet, but these aren't always visible. They are distinctive in other ways though, with dark heads, and small bills which are patchy black and pink. They are in Northumberland in large numbers and can often be seen in spectacular flocks flying from field to field.

Pink-footed Geese are one of several species of Goose that "Whiffle" when they come in to land. They turn themselves upside-down and back again. The flock all do this at different times giving a very chaotic appearance, compared to the very orderly v-shaped skeins they normally fly in. You can see them whiffling in the photo below (especially the goose bottom left).

Obviously when they are briefly upside-down they are no longer aerodynamic and will drop down rapidly. It is believed they use this tactic to avoid attack from predators (including man).