Winterbirding: Brent geese in Dublin

Winterbirding: More putative ‘grey-bellied brant’ in Dublin this winter?

On the 14th it December Joe proudfoot found a nice feeding flock of 1100 Brent geese at Killbarrack Co. Dublin. This flock contained two adult dark-bellied Brent and what appears to be a male ‘grey-bellied Brant’. This bird appears to be a different individual to another adult male that Brian McCloskey found in Co. Louth earlier this winter. An adult male (the same or perhaps another male) was seen at Blackrock Dublin a few days later. 

The main issue still remains regarding the uncertainty behind the ‘grey-bellied brant’. The Uncertainty refers to the fact is this brant a separate race, or is it a hybrid between two other brent/brant races? This is the question that still remains. The fact that any genetic work to date has not proven conclusive then the hybrid option may be the case? Even with all this uncertainty I am very keen to document these individuals showing up around Ireland to try and get a better understanding of their identification features. It takes a team to work on these subjects not just one person so the more the merrier when working with these types of tricky identifications. A good number of dark-bellied brent have been recorded this winter in Dublin also which is great to hear. This may mean more people are paying attention to brent identification than in previous years.

Putative adult male ‘grey-bellied Brant’ with adult male dark-bellied brent and pale-bellied brent - Joe Proudfoot

Even with the strong afternoon sunshine beaming down on this bird you can still clearly see that the under parts are far darker to that of the pale-bellied present to the right and is a different colour tone to that of the dark-bellied.

Putative adult male ‘grey-bellied brant’ being attacked by adult male dark-bellied brent - Joe Proudfoot

Note: Broad white neck collar on putative grey-bellied brant’ and similar on the adult male dark-bellied and is what you would expect to see on a black brant almost. Also note the darker brown/grey under parts contrasting with the whiter flanks similar to that of a black brant.

Putative ‘grey-bellied brant’ and dark-bellied brent - Joe Proudfoot 

Note: darker upper parts of the putative’grey-bellied’ to dark-bellied and pale-bellied brent. The upper parts of the dark-bellied are a light brown-grey to that of the ‘grey-bellied’ and then again the even greyer pale-bellied upper parts.

In this photo you can just about make out that the dark runs in between the legs here which is always a very good indication that you are not viewing a pure pale-bellied brent.

A series of images all taken from screen grabs of Joe Proudfoots video footage. The flanks can clearly be seen to be whiter than the adult male dark-bellied to it’s right along with the grey-brown under parts and then the upper parts of the ‘grey-bellied’ are darker. Strong lighting situation’s will of course affect just how dark both the upper and under parts appear on any brent/brant. 

I hope to see some more of these geese this winter and get some nice images to work off for more documentation and project work on wintering Irish brent/brant races.

Many thanks to two good friends of mine for their insights and photos once again. And they of course are Brian McCloskey and Joe Proudfoot.

#winterbirding #Irishbirding #brent #brant #vikingoptical #birdguides #Dublin