brent goose
Branta bernicla

Small very dark goose of estuarine habitat

Habitat: estuaries and grassland

Common winter visitor to UK; dark-bellied race comes to south-east England and Continent, pale-bellied to Ireland

Dark-bellied has black face with white flash on black neck; white rear end with belly as dark as breast

Walks, grazes on estuary mud and fields; flies frequently and lands on water and ground

On arrival feeds on eel-grass beds on the mud; later moves to cereal fields and grassland near the estuary

Nest is a lined scrape near water, mostly near sea

1 Brood June – July ; 3-5 eggs white/yellow