Latin name
Branta bernicla
Family
Swans, ducks and geese (Anatidae)
Description:
A small, dark goose - the same size as a mallard. It has a black head and neck and grey-brown back, with either a pale or dark belly, depending on the race. Adults have a small white neck patch. It flies in loose flocks along the coast, rather than in tight skeins like grey geese. It is an Amber List species because of the important numbers found at just a few sites.
Where to see them:
Estuaries and saltmarshes. Main concentrations of dark-bellied birds in the Wash, the North Norfolk coastal marshes, Essex estuaries, the Thames Estuary and Chichester and Langstone Harbours. Most light-bellied birds are found at Strangford Lough and Lough Foyle, N Ireland and at Lindisfarne, Northumberland.
When to see them:
Birds arrive in October and depart again in March.
What they eat:
Vegetation, especially eel-grass.
Worldwide distribution:
In the UK:
Coasts of N, E and S England, and N Ireland.
In Europe
Arctic islands (breeding); Denmark, Netherlands, France, UK and Ireland (winter)
Worldwide:
Europe, Asia and N America
 |
Dark Bellied Brent Goose October 2010 Pagham
Nikon D300S f4, 1/1000th sec, ISO 200
|
No comments:
Post a Comment