Black Brant (LBRC)

Very scarce, North America. Almost annual, with Dark-bellied Brent Geese flocks.

 

 

Black Brant: left, at Freiston Shore April 21st 2010 (Steve Keightley), and right, Frampton Marsh April 6th 2013 (Paul Sullivan).

 

Black Brant is currently a sub-species within the Brent Goose complex originating in the Arctic Canada, Alaska and east Siberia. This subspecies is a very rare but annual winter visitor found within the regular flocks of Dark-bellied Brent, B.b.bernicla, wintering on the coast. It was first recorded at in the Donna Nook/ Saltfleet area on January 21st 1982 and again on 23rd (accepted by BBRC; see finders report, below) and was in a flock of 700 Dark-bellied Brent and 4 Pale-bellied Brent. It was removed from the list of BBRC taxa in 2006.

 

The second county record was a bird seen at Kirton Marsh on February 19th 1987 followed by birds at Wainfleet on January 10th January 1991, Holbeach Marsh on November 10th 1996 and Butterwick Marsh on April 26th 1998. These were the forerunners of what have become almost annual records since and trying to assess annual totals in the county is sometimes difficult due to birds moving between sites, particularly in the south-west Wash. Most locations between Gibraltar Point and the Nene Mouth that hold any sizeable flocks of Dark-bellied Brent Geese have produced at least one record of Black Brant, but the favoured location seems to be Gibraltar Point and the stretch of Wash coastline between Butterwick Marsh and Kirton Marsh. Away from the Wash, a bird at Cleethorpes and Humberston from November 9th 2000 (with two on November 18th) until at least January 29th 2001, then at Tetney on April 9th 2001, was the first bird seen on the northeast coast since the very first county record and Skidbrooke 18 years previously.

Black Brant breed in the Canadian Arctic from Melville Island westwards to Alaska and in northeast Siberia westwards to the Taimyr Peninsula wintering on both sides of the north Pacific southwards to Baja California in the east and the Yellow Sea in the west. In recent decades the breeding range of Dark-bellied Brent Geese has expanded eastwards. This has brought them into contact with the westward expanding population of Black Brant in the area of the Taimyr Peninsula, increasing the likelihood of them becoming caught up with westward migrating flocks of Dark-bellied Brent Geese.

Mixed population of Dark-bellied Brent and Black Brant have been recorded in the breeding grounds in the area around the Taimyr Peninsula and perhaps account for an increasing number of hybrid records that are being claimed in Western Europe. The first British record of a mixed pair of Black Brant and Dark-bellied Brent Goose with their family of 6 hybrid young was at Thorney Deeps West Sussex from 8th January to 18th March 1989. Further records were forthcoming from Dorset in 1997 and Norfolk in 2001 and since then several claims have been made as increased observer awareness and closer study of Brent flocks have been made. There can be great variation amongst individual birds and “intergrades” have been reported several times in Lincolnshire the first of which dates back to 1992.

 

Finder's report: Black Brant at Skidbrooke, January 21st, 1982, first county record.

by Graham P. Catley.

Note: this account is taken from the original submission to the BBRC. There were two records in 1982 and BBRC noted that after records in Essex in 1957 and 1958, this race had been annual since 1974, and, presciently, that no doubt time will show it to be of fairly regular occurrence here.

 

Circumstances and description

On 21st January whilst counting Pale-breasted Brent Geese, B.b. hrota, at Skidbrooke, I located an individual with the Brent flock was located which showed characteristics of the race B.b. nigricans, colloquially known as the Black Brant. In general appearance it was similar to the other birds of the other two races present, there being 700 B.b. bernicla and 4 B.b. hrota on the day in question.  It did however look slightly smaller than many of the others, but it was the plumage which was so distinctive plumage.

The head, neck, breast, and upper belly were a black colour with a brownish tinge to the neck and upper breast in good light, while the lower belly was dark grey and the undertail coverts the normal white. The white mark on the neck was a very prominent feature, being deeper than that of any of the other birds, and forming an almost full collar, joined round the front of the neck, and only narrowly broken at the rear. The upperparts were a dark grey and the flanks a very bright whitish colour, being made more obvious by the contrast with the surrounding dark grey and black of the breast, belly, and upperparts.

Whilst watching this bird it was once surrounded by a group of B.b. bernicla which threatened it with necks held down and aggressive gestures, otherwise it fed normally amongst the flock. It was still present on 23rd January when it was seen by H. Bunn and M. Mellor but was not seen thereafter.

Identification of this race of Brent Goose obviously requires fairly critical examination of Brents, but this individual was certainly more obvious than I would have expected. This is a new race of Brent Goose for the county.

 

Reference

Catley, G.P. (Undated). Accounts of Lincolnshire rarities: Black Brant at Skidbrooke, January 21st 1982. Lincolnshire Bird Report 1982.

Rogers, M. J., and the rarities Committe with comments by K. E. Vinicombe (1983). Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 1982. British Birds 76 (11): 476-529.

 

(Account as per new Birds of Lincolnshire (2021), included September 2022)