Brant Goose Watching on Vancouver Island

On Vancouver Island, the Pacific (Black) Brant Goose is so well-known that it has a festival named after it. The Brant utilizes Vancouver Island as a layover on their route from California and Mexico to Alaska and the Canadian north. Thousands of other species feasts on the herring spawn, including these geese. The under-tail is purely white, and the tail is short and black, with the remainder of the body being dark to light black. The Brant is said to have flown over 135,000 miles in its lifetime, resulting in enough repeated flier miles, which can make even the most ardent traveller envy. Brant is derived from the Norse word 'brand,' meaning 'burnt,' and the bird was given its name because of its charcoal colouring.
In general, there are three types of Brant geese, the dark-bellied (found mainly in Siberia), pale-bellied (found in Greenland, eastern Canada, and northern Europe) and Vancouver Island local black Brant. The geese come to rest and feed on Vancouver Island before continuing their journey north. The oldest recorded Brant was a female, and was over 27 years, 6 months old.
Based on the article Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy released about Brant geese, these waterfowls build up their nests close to sea coast just above high tides. However, remember that these birds do not reside at one place and they are titled as one of the Vancouver Island migratory bird species.

Brant geese go along the coast of North America in the spring, stopping in the Pacific Northwest along the way. Thousands of birds converge on coastal beaches and flats to eat on eelgrass, making their presence on Vancouver Island a reason for joy. Each year between late March and mid-April, Parkville and Qualicum Beach communities celebrate the Brant Festival.

According to what Vancouver Island Free Daily has released, several Parksville beaches are closed to dogs, whether on or off lease- for the annual Brant geese migration. In other words, Brant season on Vancouver Island can refer to the restriction for dogs to enter, whether on or off the leash, on the beach where the Brant festival is going to take place.

The geese begin to appear in late February, and the final ones arrive in early May, with a peak in late March. These geese are among the hundreds of other species that feast on the herring spawn every year in March. This time of the year is is claimed to be the best time for goose watching on Vancouver Island.

While a few Brant geese overwinter near the coast of British Columbia, the majority are spring migrants returning to their Arctic nesting sites from as far south as Mexico. The majority of the population is located in Boundary Bay and the east coast of Vancouver Island, notably near Parksville-Qualicum Beach and Comox Harbour, between mid-March and early May. Brant watching in these areas might give you the chance for an unforgettable bear viewing, whale watching, and even other birding opportunities. Brant geese move around the west coast of Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii in smaller numbers. There you might see Brant geese in flight.

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Wildfowl Journal has an article fully elaborating on the route Brant take over during their migration.” During autumn migration, all PTT-tagged Brant followed a coastal route around Alaska and staged for variable lengths of time at the following sites on the north and west coasts of Alaska:

Most (c. 45%) PTT detections in the southern Salish Sea occurred in Samish Bay (48°36’N, 122°30’W), followed by Padilla Bay (48°30’N, 122°31’W; c. 26%). Brant migrated north from the Salish Sea along the coast to southeast Alaska and then followed either an interior route across the Yukon or a coastal route around Alaska.