A rare sighting of Arctic birds at an island golf course will be the nearest Bermuda gets to snow this Christmas.

Two snow geese, which usually breed in Alaska, Greenland and Siberia, were spotted at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton.

The birds basked in warm local conditions after they were spotted flying over the Causeway and landing on the golf course on Monday.

They joined a brant goose, another unusual visitor which winters mostly on the west coast of North America.

Andrew Dobson, president of the Bermuda Audubon Society, said the snow geese would feed on grass and may spend the winter on the island before flying back to their summer home.

Mr Dobson said: “This is the closest Bermuda will get to snow over Christmas. Snow geese have been recorded in Bermuda in small numbers every year for the past 20 years.

“Sometimes it is a solitary individual that makes it to the island instead of spending the winter on the eastern seaboard.”