Colour-ringed Brent

Alun John photographed this colour-ringed Pale-bellied Brent at Mumbles today, the details of which I'll post here when we get a response from the scheme organiser. Brent Geese of any race aren't particularly frequent in Swansea Bay, especially so at the Mumbles end, so well done Alun.

(c) A. John

Thanks to Graham McElwaine of The Irish Brent Goose Research Group for getting back so quickly. He informs us that the bird has lost the ring from it's left leg, so is unable to provide the original ringing details [I presume this will have been somewhere in Ireland?]. However, he was able to say that this bird was seen with an unringed mate and 2 juveniles on 24th September 2011 in Iceland and was then noted several times at Havre de Regnéville, on the French coast just east of Jersey during November and December 2011. He also said that this is the first of their birds to be seen in Swansea Bay. 

Brent Geese in the Burry Inlet

Part of a flock of 145 Dark-bellied Brent Geese at Crofy on 9th January 2010
Although I have not made any complete counts on the Burry this winter (this task is carried out relgiously by Bob Howells), my own observations suggest that numbers of Brent Geese seem lower than in previous winters. Figures extracted for Gower Birds for the period 1968-2008, show that the population on the Burry has in fact fluctuated quite markedly in recent years. The reasons are likely to be complex but breeding success and an increase in movements between winter sites are probable key factors. The peak count on the Burry was fairly recently in December 2005 when 1680 were in the estuary.

Data from Gower Birds (Grenfell et al, 1969-2009)
[NB. Last two years data incomplete so figures may be higher than shown]