Another Waterfowl Species in the Marsh: A Goose of the Sea

An adult Brant, distinguished from a juvenile by the white comma behind its head, winters by the tens of thousands
on the Atlantic Coast; we are lucky to see a handful in Ohio each year
Photo courtesy of the The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

We picked up another bird species on the official site-specific tally this week, and fittingly considering the season, it was a waterfowl species. I have to admit though, I've never "added" a species to a property total quite so literally. (Usually the verification comes by way of binocular or camera lenses -- not shotgun shell.)

Tuesday morning, one of our West Marsh blinds harvested a Brant, a small goose most at home on the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines. Noticeably smaller than a Canada goose but larger than a mallard (one of our biggest common ducks), this gray-tone fowl had the guys scratching their heads a bit. The solitary bird passed low over the decoys, and ultimately presented well enough to justify a shot.

While abundant -- even to the point of approaching nuisance levels -- in their traditional ranges, Brant are categorized by the Ohio Division of Wildlife as "rare to uncommon." They are one of 94 bird species that the ODNR identifies as historically present within its borders, but they are asterisked in that they "may not occur annually."

Adult Brant (Atlantic variety)
Photo courtesy of the The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The Brant breeds in the high Arctic tundra and those that make their way past us are en route to winter grounds along the Atlantic Coast. (Pacific fliers were once thought to be a separate species, but near as I can tell, they are still considered one taxonomically.)  Independent of the coastline, they are definitely birds of the sea, so any observation inland is a temporary stop-over. Virtually all Ohio records are from the shoreline of Lake Erie.

Brant typically occur regionally as single birds or very small groups. Our experience this week fit that description. The guys were pretty sure they saw a second individual later in the morning, feeding in the open water a couple hundred yards from the blind. To make it very clear, harvesting Brant is completely legal. In fact, they are managed just as Canada geese are in the Buckeye State. Seasons mirror each other, as does the daily bag (three birds per hunter).

While the beauty of a bird is seldom captured too long after the shot, there is some discussion of having this
specimen mounted to help replicate its handsome look on the wing -- it's pretty unlikely the hunter will shoot another one . . .
at least in Ohio