Flock of Svalbard barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) rest in shallow waters along the coast of Svalbard, Norway, in summertime. The Svalbard barnacle goose population is one of the most studied populations of migratory geese in the world. The Svalbard population of barnacle geese has increased dramatically since the end of the 1940s, when it was estimated that there were only a few hundred individuals left.