Brent Goose

Brent Geese (Branta Bernicla Bernicla) are the most maritime of Northern Geese which mostly winter in the intertidal zone along temperate coasts. Seldom straying inland, they are commonly called sea-geese and are better known as Brent in America. Both their vernacular and generic names were probably derived from the Anglo-Saxon word bernan or brennan, meaning to burn, or the old German word brand for burnt, referring to their charred, black-brown burnt coloration. Their specific name possibly originated from Norwegian word for barnacle, in reference to the myth that the geese hatched from barnacles clinging to driftwood. Brent Geese (Branta Bernicla Bernicla) are elongate geese with rather short necks and legs, their distinct white rumps and undertails are prominent in flight. While appearing slow and heavy in flight, they fly on rapidly beating, long pointed wings, just above the waves in dense packs that twist and turn in unison in the manner of shorebird flocks. These geese also have a peculiar habit of balling up into a mass and then stringing out in long, undulating, oblique lines. They prefer to fly around projecting spits. If land must be crossed, their flight is higher than when over the sea. Brent Geese (Branta Bernicla Bernicla) are quarrelsome geese that are characterized by delightful rolling calls a deafening clamor commonly ensues from airborne flocks. They sit slightly on the water like gulls, with stern-high postures and upraised tails that accentuate the white undertail. Frequently grazing ashore, Brent Geese (Branta Bernicla Bernicla) walk daintily with quick, precise movements. These maritime geese rarely seek fresh water because well-developed salt glands enable them to drinks sea water and consume coastal vegetation and marine plants with high salt contents. Up to eighty percent of their winter diet consist of eelgrass. They feed on moist intertidal flats, where foraging is regulated by tidal cycles. Pairs nest only a foot or so above the high-water mark, where storms often cause nest desertion and substantial egg losses.