The Grey-bellied Brant in Ireland

(Some Identification work from findings

In the field)

Adult male ‘Grey-bellied brant’ Kilbarrack, Dublin 2nd March 2013 - Victor Caschera

Introduction

When I first heard about the ‘grey-bellied brant’ on the rare and scarce birding website called Irish birding, I became hooked. Matt Silk had found an adult male bird that he strongly suspected to be a grey-bellied on playing fields of a school in Donaghmede, Dublin. He wrote a long identification summary of why he suspected the bird was a grey-bellied. This kind of work has always fascinated me, mainly because it shows just how much we can discover about birds. I have written two short pieces about the family of suspected grey-bellied so far this winter since finding them and now want to expand on talking about some of the other Irish candidates that have been found over the years.

It mainly seems to be adult males that are the ones that can be identified as being strong grey-bellied candidates. I have been very interested in finding out more about both male and female grey-bellied, including juvenile/first-year birds. It’s difficult to know if we will ever get to grips with grey-bellied and hybrids. An adult male and its family of three juvenile/first-winters and a female have been moving between south Dublin and north Wicklow since late October. These birds have now been seen by many birders which will hopefully help finding more of these suspected vagrants each winter in Ireland.

In this article I hope to be able to shed some more light on the grey-bellied brant in Ireland, and to see just how rare or perhaps scarce these birds are each winter. It is very interesting to read Martin Garner’s piece on the Brent complex about his first encounter with the ‘grey-bellied brant’ in Northern Ireland. On his first attempt of finding this subspecies he found a family flock. Link attached below to this fascinating piece of work by Martin.

Photography

While viewing/photographing brent/brant it is very important to take the lighting situation into account. If the light is strong and bright shining on a bird of interest this can make it appear paler than it may actually be, and the same goes for if it is dull. The bird may appear far darker in this case. Lighting also comes into effect for all the brent/brant complex.

Finding ‘grey-bellied’:

While the grey-bellied brant was thought to be a very rare vagrant to Ireland, it seems that is most likely not to be the case. Birds are now recorded most winters, with more people taking an interest in this subspecies. It is now known to be a fact that the ‘grey-bellied brant’ is an overlooked bird in Ireland and surely occurs on a more regular basis, especially given its breeding range to pale-bellied. This acrical now sheds some more light on the occurrence of the ‘grey-bellied brant’ each year in Ireland and shows that while scanning through pale-bellied brent flocks that these vagrants could potentially be among the more common ‘hrota’. 

Link to the first reported ‘Grey-bellied brant’ on Irish birding

(http://www.irishbirding.com/birds/web/Display/sighting/53948/Birding_Opportunity.html)

Range:

Grey-bellied Brant (Branta sp., unassigned) breeds on Melville and Prince Patrick Islands in the western Canadian High Arctic. The breeding grounds are therefore to the north of Black Brant and to the west of the High Arctic population of Pale-bellied Brent.They winter almost exclusively in Puget Sound, western USA (in particular at Padilla Bay, Washington). Grey-bellied Brant is the least abundant of all the Brent Geese and has been declining, with an estimated 15,000 birds in 1988 but only 4,000-8,000 birds by the turn of the century (Hagmeier 2000)

(Geographical range and status, Brent Geese of four kinds: Dark-bellied Brent, Pale-bellied Brent, Black Brant and Grey-bellied Brant Martin Garner) 

The family flock of grey-bellied brent with pale-bellied - Kilcoole marsh

Identification in the Field: Key Features

The most variable. Pale birds like Pale-bellied but with brownish extending beyond legs. Dark birds like 'pale-plumaged' Black Brant • Upper parts warm brown, like Pale-bellied or slightly darker • White necklace variable, often joined at front.

(Martin Garner, Brent Geese of four kinds: Dark-bellied Brent, Pale-bellied Brent, Black Brant and Grey-bellied Brant paper )

I hope to carry out more work on female birds during the course of the family of fives stay and from birds that others may find throughout the winters to come. 

• Darker upper parts than pale-bellied (Between pale-bellied and black brant)

• Grey/brown under parts with areas of grey/brown running through flanks

• Some juv/first-winter paler similar to dark-bellied brent and other resemble black brant 

• Female birds can tend to be very subtle, though they are highly variable (Some probably are not safe to identify without being seen with a male or young)

Some Irish Birds to Date:

Kilcoole/Kilbogget First-winters:

There are three first-winter birds with the adult male and female, the offspring of this pair. Two of the birds are very dark even compared to the male. The third is quite substantially paler though stands out from the crowd of immature pale-bellied present. Two of the dark birds show dark brown/blackish upperparts and underparts just like that of a black brant. The white wing coverts stand out on both of these birds due to how dark they are on the upper and underparts. Both birds show a white area on the flanks, though not as contrasting as that of the adult male. The third first-winter shows a paler grey/brown tone to the upper and underparts. 

First-winter ‘grey-bellied brant’ and first-winter pale-bellied brent Kilcoole 22nd December 2020 - Niall Keogh

This is one of the darker of the three first-winter birds. Almost resembling a first-winter black brant. 

‘Grey-bellied’ family Kilcoole - Cian Cardiff

All three first-winters can be seen quite well from this above image. All three birds appear very black brant like in this image, mainly due to the poor dull quality of my phone scoped image. Though two of the three are very dark.

Adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’ Kilbarrack - Victor Caschera

Sandymount strand flock, October 29th, 2020

On October the 29th while working on Sandymount strand I came across a large flock of two-hundred plus pale-bellied brent geese that were feeding on an area of seaweed covered rocks that had been swept onto the strand by recent high tides and winds. While scanning through the flock I picked up an adult Dark-bellied brent feeding amongst the pale-bellied flock. As I began to scan the flock again, I came across a very dark brent type. Dark on the upper and underparts (Especially in the first two images as shown below). This mainly being down to the distance and poor lighting while initially photographing the bird/s. After looking at the male for quite some time I then began to scan the flock again and see what else maybe with the pale-bellied. As I saw the male again as it went into a channel out of view, I then spotted two dark juvenile birds (Not as dark as the male) though far darker brown on the underparts than any pale-bellied present. These juvenile birds seemed to be sticking with the male and a female bird that was also in and out of the channels which made viewing difficult. The female bird appeared more like a pale-bellied bird when I saw it several times briefly. Making me think is this a family flock of hybrid black brant x pale-bellied? Though, when looking at the juveniles I thought these birds are far too pale for any black brant influence. I did not see a third juvenile bird at the time, though it was very likely to have been present and then seen at Kilcoole on the 22nd of December 2020 with its two siblings and both parents. 

Adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’ with pale-bellied brent - Sandymount strand - Cian Cardiff 

Adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’ with pale-bellied brent - Sandymount strand - Cian Cardiff 

Adult male and juvenile ‘grey-bellied brant’ Sandymount strand - Cian Cardiff

Adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’ Sandymount strand - Cian Cardiff

Sandymount and Kilcoole Adult male:

The adult male is quite a striking individual, though he isn’t the most striking and darkest of the family unit. One of the first-winter birds is darker on both the upper and underparts. This male shows darker upper and underparts than any of the pale-bellied present and appears more like a black brant than a dark-bellied brent at times. Especially given the white flanks mixed with areas of grey markings which stands out to the nacked eye with close views of the flock. The upperparts are quite like a mix of black brant and pale-bellied rather than that chocolate brown/grey hue of the dark-bellied brent. The grey begins on the lower chest/upper belly area and runs down to the vent just like that of a black brant or dark-bellied brent. In good light it is clear to see that the colour is a grey/brown colour rather than a very dark brown/black when seen in poor dull lighting. The collar has become more striking as the winter has progressed.

The back of the collar doesn’t meet and is very broad at the front and sides, which can be seen well when the bird stretches its neck out.

Adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’ Kilcoole marsh 24 December 2020 - Cian Cardiff

Adult Female:

On my first initial poor views of the female I had considered

her to be a stronger pale-bellied candidate than a grey-bellied.

But, since seeing and photographing her better at Kilcoole on

the 24th of December I now believe that she is a strong candidate

for a grey-bellied. The female shows upperparts that are more typical

of a pale-bellied, perhaps a little darker. There is quite a lot of grey streaking/markings

around the flanks also. Which I have often noted on some darker pale-bellied also.

Female birds are the more difficult to get to grips with in terms of

identification and require quite a lot of time and good photographs

to try and get the bird into the grey-bellied candidate category. 

Female and two-first-winter ‘grey-bellied brant’ - Kilbogget park, Dublin - Stephen King

This female bird is quite subtle, though maybe appears not to be in this particular image due to dark lighting. The female bird shows extensive grey on the belly and a large white flank area with the upper parts being closer to pale-bellied than black brant. This female if seen without the supporting male and three first-winters wouldn't draw much attention within a flock of pale-bellied. 

Female ‘grey-bellied brant’ Kilcoole marsh, Wicklow - Cian Cardiff 

A ‘greyish’ pale-bellied that was among the ‘grey-bellied’ family at Kilcoole on the 24th of December 2020 - Cian Cardiff

A more ‘typical’ adult pale-bellied also on the 24th of December at Kicoole - Cian Cardiff

Donaghmede/Kilbarrack Grey-bellied:

On the 18th of February 2013 Matt silk noted an adult male grey-bellied candidate amongst a large feeding flock of pale-bellied on the playing fields of Donahies community school. This was the first time I had heard of the so-called ‘grey-bellied brent’. While looking through his informative images on Irish birding I then began to become fascinated by these geese, especially as Matthew had written a nice and very interesting piece about why he was suggesting that this adult male brent/brant was indeed a strong grey-bellied candidate. Once this bird has been reported online it became of interest to many (Mainly as this could become a tick if it were ever to be split into a full species) This bird if seen in good lighting caused little confusion while birders were trying to pick it out from the outnumbering pale-bellied present. The broad white collar being a good enistal feature pointing towards its identification. There is a female bird that was suspected by Matthew to be a 'grey-bellied' which can also be seen in the link below.

Link below to Matthew Silks information on these birds

(http://www.irishbirding.com/birds/web/Display/sighting/53948/Birding_Opportunity.html)

Adult male ‘Grey-bellied’ - 2nd March 2013 - Kilbarrack, Dublin - Victor Caschera

This adult male shows a broad neck collar that is broken and blotchy at the front. The collar along with the grey wash from the chest to the underparts are the most striking features of this individual. The upperpart tone is more in line with the pale-bellied than the darker upperparts of the Sandymount strand male.

Adult male ‘Grey-bellied’ - 2nd March 2013 - Kilbarrack, Dublin - Victor Cashera

The side of the collar can be seen very well from this image and shows why this bird is considered to be a ‘brant’ type. The white flanks contrast with the grey underparts with grey markings cast throughout the flanks. 

Adult male ‘Grey-bellied brant’ Kilbarrack - Victor Cashera

This image shows the extent of this adult males collar, very similar to that of a male black brant. While scanning through a large flock of ‘hrota’ this bird's collar would be very striking without even seeing the under and upper parts. 

Adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’ Kilbarrack, Dublin - Matthew Silk

This bird shows upperparts that are more consistent with a pale-bellied, especially compared to the male and first-winters from Kilcoole. This bird's upper parts are more similar to a dark-bellied brent with the blue/grey hue that can be seen on the feathers. 

Adult male ‘Grey-bellied’ Kilbogget park - First-winter on the left - Stephen King

This individual shows a darker mantle than pale-bellied present and can appear more like a black brant in certain lighting situations. 

A series of images of the adult male 'grey-bellied brant' at Kilbarrack by Victor Caschera below.

Kilbarrack November 2013:

On the 11th of November 2013 Matthew Silk found what he suspected to be the returning adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’ on north bull island, Dublin. From the images I have seen of this individual it appears that this is the least striking of the birds mentioned above. Though there are still enough features to suggest this bird is a ‘grey-bellied’ type. I think this bird would still stand out within a pale-bellied flock and would definitely cause one to get the camera out and start snapping. 

See link below for more information about this individual by Niall Keogh

(http://www.irishbirding.com/birds/web/Display/sighting/62935/Birding_Opportunity.html)

Adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’ - North Bull Island 13 November 2013 - Niall Keogh

Adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’ - North Bull Island 13 November 2013 - Niall Keogh

The broad brant collar can be seen well in this head on image taken in dull light which gives the impression that the grey is similar in colour tone to the neck.

Adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’- North Bull Island 24 November 2013 - Adian G. Kelly

Adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’- North Bull Island 24 November 2013 - Adian G. Kelly

Both the upper and under parts can be seen to be darker than both adult pale-bellied present in this image.

Adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’- North Bull Island 24 November 2013 - Adian G. Kelly

Adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’ and adult pale-bellied brent - North Bull Island 24 November 2013 - Adian G. Kelly

There are several other records including birds from Northern Ireland that have been well documented by the late Martin Garner and many others. And I am sure there are pictures of candidate birds sitting in birders files on computers that have yet to be discovered. So much to learn about these birds. I hope this may encourage more people to get out and try and find some ‘grey-bellied types. If you do, please let me know! I think there is still quite a bit to learn about the ‘grey-bellied brant’. This is just the start of my work and findings in the Republic of Ireland to date, plenty more to come.

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