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Environmentalist Kerry Leonard writes the next in
his series of exclusive wildlife reports for Breathing Places.
Brent Goose Bonanza
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There are few Northern Irish bird species which have been
as well studied in recent years as the Light-bellied Brent
Goose. The focus of their very own TV series (SuperGoose),
Brent Geese are certainly worthy of study. There can be
fewer more magical sights and sounds than being close to
thousands of noisy geese. With their dark plumage and constant
calling the huge flocks of feeding Brent stretched across
the mudflats remind me of the massive herds of ‘gnuing’
Wildebeest on the African plains. Worlds apart maybe but
both species make long and dangerous migrations in search
of food.
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In early autumn Northern Ireland holds the majority of
the world population of Light-bellied Brent Geese as they
arrive from Iceland. Northern Ireland is THE place for wintering
Light-bellied Brent. Their journey actually started from
their breeding grounds in Arctic Canada, journeying over
Greenland and Iceland, to arrive in Northern Ireland. Thousands
pass through Lough Foyle while others follow the Northern
Ireland coastline to Strangford Lough, the single most important
wintering site for Light-bellied Brent Geese, where the
birds are dependent on the Zostera eelgrass for food.
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Recently I was lucky enough to join Kerry Mackie (Wildfowl
and Wetlands Trust), Kendrew Colhoun (RSPB) and Stuart Bearhop
(Exeter University) to catch Brent Geese on Strangford Lough.
The geese are caught using Cannon Nets which literally fire
a net over the feeding birds. Skilled netters then remove
the birds for ringing. The use of these techniques is strictly
licensed and Kerry is the only person in Northern Ireland
with a cannon net permit. Each bird is colour ringed with
a unique colour and letter combination which allows them
to be recognised later.
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Of course catching birds is problematical and it does not
always go according to plan. After catching fifteen birds
in the morning we then spent a long two hours sitting behind
a hedge waiting for birds to appear at a second site –
they did appear but probably wisely decided to remain three
hundred yards away from the catching site. No doubt the
Brent team are now experts on muddy hedgerows throughout
Ireland!
Colour ringing, satellite tagging and radio tracking work
has generated vital data which is helping the highly successful
Brent Goose Conservation Programme. Thanks to the efforts
of the Irish Brent Goose Research Group the species is doing
very well.
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