04 March 2012

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. 

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