A Brant is a relatively small goose that breeds on the Artic coasts of Western Siberia, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. In late fall, they migrate to Western Europe from Siberia. In North America, they fly down from Alaska and the upper reaches of Canada to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, at times making non-stop flights that could be as long as 1,000 miles (1,600 km) or more. While the Pacific and European Brants have black bellies, the Atlantic Brants that I see have white ones.
Yesterday, as temperatures climbed to the 50’s (10 °C) I went to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park where the Brants put on quite a show in preparation for their impending flight back to their breeding grounds.
RV John said:
Nice set of photos with this one. Yet one more bird that I have never seen.
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Julie@frogpondfarm said:
Another fine collection …🙂 I think the pic of the single bird is a stunner! Thanks for sharing these beauties
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you Julie! Which picture of the single bird are your referring to: the walking one, or the flying one?
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Julie@frogpondfarm said:
The flying one … 🙂
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bluebrightly said:
I love the bird on the left in the second photo – such a sweet expression! I have great memories of walking along the beach in winter on Staten Island and getting close enough to groups of Brant to hear their low murmuring as they move through the surf along the shoreline. The third photo is yet another perfect in-flight image, Hien!
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you Lynn! I have one more in-flight photo of the same Brant. It is perfectly horizontal and I will post it one of these days.
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blhphotoblog said:
Nice shots. We get several thousand Dark- bellied Brent (Brant) over-winter here in Norfolk UK, occasionally we have a few pale bellied but in the UK they are mostly in the west and Ireland.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you for visiting and commenting! You have a beautiful and interesting blog, and I have just clicked on the follow button.
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Gunta said:
We can always tell the Brants from the Canadas by their milder honking as they fly.
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neihtn2012 said:
You are right of course! It’s one of the reasons to like Brants more than Canada Geese.
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Emma Cownie said:
He a stocky chap. I particularly like that first photo.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you Emma!
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bayphotosbydonna said:
Beautiful images, Hien! I’m still looking to capture my ‘first’ Brant. 🙂 I’ve heard they will mix in/alongside the Canada or Snow Geese on land. Have you seen them do this or do they keep to their own flock and area? I’m always going through my photos of large flocks of geese, looking for possible Brants.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thanks Donna! I have not personally seen Brants mix with Canada Geese or Snow Geese. Usually, from afar it is possible to misidentify Brants as Canada Geese. But once you come closer to them, and see more details, especially the smaller bill and small size, you can then tell whether they are Brants or not.
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ekurie said:
It does look a bit like a miniature Canada goose, to me. The coloring?
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neihtn2012 said:
It does look like a Canada goose, but is noticeably smaller, and its bill is not as pronounced. It also does go back to the Artic, whereas the Canada geese stick around all year long.
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