Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Riding the Waves

Making Days Count 68

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Today it was all about Brant Geese. The tide was out and the Brant were in! I had a wonderful walk along the sand and water's edge watching the antics of the 'Little Sea Geese' and the seemingly unimpressed seagulls.

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Each year during March and April the Brant Geese arrive in this area. More information about the Brant Geese migration can be found by clicking the excerpt below:
Black Brant. The name is magical, and it carries with it a suggestion of distant places and amazing journeys. And so it is with this diminutive little goose, which pays an annual visit to British Columbia... In British Columbia, their arrival is a cause for celebration, as thousands of birds set their wings, and descend on coastal beaches and flats, to feed on Eelgrass (Zostera species).

To read the importance of eelgrass, click here.

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I didn't think my video had uploaded to Photobucket, but it had, so here it is. It is a bit rough as I didn't have much time to edit, however, you'll see the Brant riding the waves, which I thought looked rather amusing!



BTW Since I had to cross an expanse of water to get to the large stretch of sand, I had my first wade in bare feet! It was quite shallow, and very refreshing ;)

5 comments:

  1. You had me intrigued from the beginning Glo, when I first saw the name I thought I had misread it as we have the Brent Goose visit this country in the Winter. I looked it up and they do seem to be one and the same! I have never seen one though as they visit estuaries and saltmarshes and my area is landlocked.

    You got some good photos and I enjoyed the video but couldn't help laughing, it did look like hard work for them, trying to keep abreast of the waves :)

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  2. I love brent geese, the ones shysongbird mentions, I like your photos very much...

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  3. Hi Glo, just trying to catch up, so much to see and read here!
    'Our' beach (where we holiday each year) has eel grass, just off shore, sea horses live amongst it, so I'm told

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  4. They're quite small aren't they! Wonderful photos and video, and an interesting link. Flighty xx

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  5. Hi ShySongbird ~ Very interesting to know of the Brent Geese on the other side of the pond, and thanks for the information ;)

    It's nearly herring spawning season, too, so the seals are making their presence known as well.

    Glad you liked the video, too ~ the geese really looked like they were being tossed about and it was funny :)

    Hi Juliet ~ I have realized that, although we live far from each other, there are more similarities than differences in the type of birds we see :) I think the 'white necklace' worn by the Brant/Brent geese is particularly noteworthy! Glad you enjoyed the photos :)

    Hi UHDD ~ Thanks for catching up :) Really interesting to know about the eelgrass and seahorses. I was fascinated to learn the importance of eelgrass!

    Hi Flighty ~ They're much smaller than the Canada Goose ~ still fairly substantial size, with very attractive markings I think. Glad you liked the link, too. :)

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