Black Brant (gobirding.eu)

Black Brant Branta (bernicla) nigricans

Brent Geese belonging to the North American and east Siberian form nigricans are occurring in Norfolk with increasing regularity - several individuals are now recorded every winter.



adult Black Brant (with Dark-bellied Brent Geese), Wells (Norfolk, UK), 26th February 2007


adult Black Brant (with Dark-bellied Brent Geese), Wells (Norfolk, UK), 11th December 2007

The above photos show the main ID features quite well - the neck collar is extensive, joining at the front and nearly at the back, both the upperparts and the belly are darker than on the accompanying Dark-bellied Brent Geese, contrasting less with the black neck sock, and the flank patch is whiter, standing out more against the darker back and belly.

The individual shown below arrived in the company of an adult Dark-bellied Brent Goose and hybrid offspring.




adult Black Brant (with Dark-bellied Brent Geese and hybrid young), Wells (Norfolk, UK), 19th November 2004

The following adult Brent Geese were present among a flock of Dark-bellied Brent Geese. There were up to five diffierent adults which showed some characters of Black Brant but none showed the full suite of characters and were presumably all hybrids. Their appearance varied slightly but typically they showed the following features:

Darker upperparts and upper belly compared to Dark-bellied Brent Geese, but probably not as dark as on Black Brant
More contrasting white flanks than Dark-bellied Brent Geese but not as contrasting as on Black Brant (one or two were perhaps no more contrasting than on a well-marked Dark-bellied Brent Geese)
None showed as extensive white neck collar as would be expected on a Black Brant but some showed more white than is normal for Dark-bellied Brent Geese

Here are three of them:

Black Brant x Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Wells, 22-Nov-06

adult Black Brant x Dark-belled Brent Goose hybrids (with Dark-bellied Brent Geese), Wells (Norfolk, UK), 19th November 2004

When I photographed the birds below I kept seeing one Black Brant coming in and out of view and, although I was aware that a second bird had been reported shortly beforehand, I only ever saw one bird at once and assumed I was looking at the same bird each time (there seemed to be relatively few birds out of view at any one time, so I figured the chances of there being two were slim). After establishing that it was a pure Black Brant and not a hybrid I concentrated on trying to obtain photographs. I should have paid more attention though as I was surprised on sorting out the photos to discover that I had in fact photographed two different birds (confirmed by the different flank patterns)! The first three photos below show one bird, a typical pure adult Black Brant. The last photo shows what I believe is a hybrid Black Brant x Dark-bellied Brent Goose. The pure bird shown here is a different individual to the bird photographed at the same site the following week (shown at the top of this page).


adult Black Brant, Wells, 19th February 2007. although poor quality photos, all the main ID features can be seen - upperparts much darker than accompanying Dark-bellied Brent Geese, belly also darker so whiter flank patch stands out prominently. Also extensive white neck collar.

adult Black Brant (left) and presumed adult hybrid Black Brant x Dark-bellied Brent Goose (right), Wells, 19th February 2007. The right hand bird still stood out from the Dark-bellied Brent Geese as having darker upperparts, whiter flanks and more extensive neck collar, but the upperparts are not as black as on the left hand bird, the flanks aren't so white and the neck collar doesn't come so close to joining at the rear. Light can play tricks on the relative darkness of the bird, and it's just about possible this is second pure Black Brant, but I believe it's more likely a hybrid.

The next one I'm not quite sure about. Black Brants can really stick out like a sore thumb when among Dark-bellied Brent Geese but in some lights they can be much trickier. I think this might just be one that didn't look obvious because of the light (bright sunshine) - at some angles it looked perfect but at others it looked distinctly unimpressive. Notice how pale the back and belly appear in the first two photos compared to the others. I'm really not sure if this is a hybrid or not - please let me know if you have an opinion.




adult Black Brant or hybrid, Wells (Norfolk, UK), 7th December 2008

The next bird is similar - I think it's a hybrid but can Black Brant look like this?

Black Brant hybrid, Burnham Overy, 31-Jan-09

probable hybrid adult Black Brant x Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Burnham Overy Marsh (Norfolk, UK), 31st January 2009

In the photos this next one doesn't seem vastly different from the putative hybrids above with the amount of contrast showing between the black neck and the dark belly/back. However I was happy at the time that it was a pure Black Brant and although the appearance varied according to the light it never showed as much contrast as was sometimes shown by the birds above.

adult Black Brant, Wells (Norfolk, UK), 14th February 2008

I think these are probably both hybrids but again I'm not certain that the right hand bird isn't within range for a pure bird.

adult presumed Black Brant x Dark-bellied Brent Goose hybrids, Wells (Norfolk, UK), 22nd January 2010

Finally some more straightforward adult Black Brants:


adult Black Brant, Titchwell (Norfolk, UK), 1st November 2008


adult Black Brant (with Dark-bellied Brent Geese), Titchwell (Norfolk, UK), 9th February 2008

adult Black Brant (with Dark-bellied Brent Geese), Stiffkey (Norfolk, UK), 21st March 2009

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