In loose V's and U's, flocks of Brant range North American coasts in search of eelgrass and other marine plants. This small, dark sea goose breeds in the far north, and its long migrations to and from the high arctic require powerful, swift flight.

Usually near coastal areas, Brant breed from the low to the high arctic, ranging irregularly from western Alaska to the far north of Hudson Bay. During winter, two subspecies are seen in North America: the Light-bellied Brant ranges from coastal Massachusetts to North Carolina, and the Black Brant winters at a few sites from the southern Alaskan coast into the Gulf of California.

 

A legend for the range map to the right can be found here.

Brant populations have experienced significant changes in the last century. In the 1930s, Brant numbers in North America and Europe fell when winter food supplies crashed. Severe winters in the mid-1970s contributed to the loss of half of the eastern population; partial recovery had occurred by the early 1990s. Pacific Brant populations have exhibited similar fluctuations. Although recent Christmas Bird Counts have recorded more Brant on both coasts, over-hunting, extreme coastal weather, habitat loss, and declining food sources have kept Brant populations chronically low. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service designates the Brant as a "Bird of Management Concern."

 

Brant have suffered from over-hunting, diminished food supplies, and severe oceanic conditions, recently linked to El Niño/La Niña weather patterns. Coastal land development and commercial shellfishing also threaten the marine wetlands where Brant graze. Along the Pacific Coast, dredged materials and piles of wasted shells, both resulting from oyster processing, ruin beds of eelgrass, a primary food source for Brant. Eelgrass, like other saltwater "grasses," is susceptible to erosion, smothering by sedimentation, overly high nutrient levels, and disease caused by freshwater run-off.

 

Enjoy Brant as they migrate and winter on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Check with a local bird club for trips in search of wintering waterfowl.

 

Support bird festivals and events that focus attention on key waterbird habitats and raise funds for protecting, conserving, and rehabilitating coastal wetlands. Visit California's Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival from January12 to 15, 2007, and Washington's Wings Over Water Pacific Northwest Birding Festival.

 

Support the moratorium on offshore drilling in Bristol Bay and the President's withdrawal of this area from the proposed Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sale Program. Learn more about this proposal at the Alaska Marine Conservation Council and read the draft proposal by the U. S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service.

 

Purchase Federal Duck Stamps, which provide for the protection and research of Brant.

 

For more actions you can take, including Audubon activities, please visit our resources page.

Visit our resources page for more information about this species.

 

Reed, A., D. H. Ward, D. V. Derksen, and J. S. Sedinger. 1998. Brant (Branta bernicla). In The Birds of North America, No. 337 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

 

Sedinger, James S., et al., "Effects of El Niño on distribution and reproductive performance of black brant." Ecology 87:1 (June 2005) 151-159.

 

Sibley, David Allen. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 2000.

 

Ward, David H. et al. "Temporal and geographic variation in survival of juvenile Black Brant." The Condor 106:2 (May 2004) 263-274.