Brent Geese

Dr Crayfish

I think I'm becoming a little obsessed with these marvellous creatures. There seems to be tonnes of them around where I live in Northside Dublin. They fly from Arctic Canada and Norway to Ireland every winter.
Are they all over Ireland? I find it so interesting that they come all the way from the Arctic to suburban Dublin. They've probably been coming here for 1000s of years. I wonder could you eat one? I'm going to cycle to St Anne's park shortly and will see if there are many there.
Am I really sad?

FTA69

Birds are amazing. I was in Ireland over Christmas and at my mate's farm there were hundreds of Whooper Swans that migrated from Russia. They all sat in the middle of a field gambolling about in a wide space they could survey their surroundings and predators. I've around fifteen feeders in my garden here and I've recorded about twenty different species of bird over the past couple of months.

They're fierce therapeutic; an hour watching my birds or feeding the coots and swans and parrots etc in the park is the best stress buster for me.

DominoDub

"Parrots" in the park ? ...oh I see your location is London that explains it .


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_parakeets


The closest we get to nice colourful birds in last while has been flocks of waxwings

Canis Lupus

Sure don't swallows spend winter in South Africa or thereabouts? Crazy to think the pair that often fly into our old ratty shed in Kerry to lay eggs each year travelled so far to do so

gramar

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Sure don't swallows spend winter in South Africa or thereabouts? Crazy to think the pair that often fly into our old ratty shed in Kerry to lay eggs each year travelled so far to do so

..and didn't half the country migrate to Australia.

Seth Brundle

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Sure don't swallows spend winter in South Africa or thereabouts? Crazy to think the pair that often fly into our old ratty shed in Kerry to lay eggs each year travelled so far to do so

Some of them also carry coconuts back with them!

Dr Crayfish

DominoDub wrote: »

"Parrots" in the park ? ...oh I see your location is London that explains it .


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_parakeets


The closest we get to nice colourful birds in last while has been flocks of waxwings

Wow, are they common in Ireland? I lived in Perth Australia for a while and flocks of Cockatoos would hang out in the trees in our garden. Beautiful birds. I see a heron every morning in Fairview park, it's so elegant, looks like something from Africa.

DominoDub

The Waxwings only came to Ireland due to the Cold in Europe

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/europe-s-big-freeze-sends-flocks-of-waxwings-to-ireland-1.2938101

mattser

Saw the Brent Geese in the football fields at Ashtown the other day. Right along the railway track. Same spot every year. I remember Countryfile on BBC mentioning this place a few years ago. Beautiful creatures.

Dr Crayfish

mattser wrote: »

Saw the Brent Geese in the football fields at Ashtown the other day. Right along the railway track. Same spot every year. I remember Countryfile on BBC mentioning this place a few years ago. Beautiful creatures.

Yes. Apparently like 30,000 of them flock to somewhere around Lough Neagh every year. Have you seen how they fly in the V formation? It's amazing.

mattser

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

Yes. Apparently like 30,000 of them flock to somewhere around Lough Neagh every year. Have you seen how they fly in the V formation? It's amazing.

Impressive formation alright. But the Starlings win the watch in that department. ( They leave a not so pretty formation on your house and car, the dirty gits )

FTA69

Currently watching a goldcrest, Europe's smallest bird, flit around the feeders. You'd watch them all day.

Graces7

I have a whole new bird population to watch... when I find the book .

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

Yes. Apparently like 30,000 of them flock to somewhere around Lough Neagh every year. Have you seen how they fly in the V formation? It's amazing.

It's Strangford Lough and Lough Foyle that get the big numbers. These are Light Bellied Brent and mostly from Canada and account for most of the world population.

The North Slobs in Wexford get the less common Dark Bellied Brent that breed in Siberia.

whoopsadoodles

I happened to be out on da nort soide there a couple of weeks ago and was walking the mutt in Seagrange Park in Baldoyle. There were hundreds of brent geese. I didn't know what they were at the time, they had a look of geese off them but I hadn't seen this colouring before.

I sent my culchie friends a pic and wasn't long before they were identified.

Gorgeous birds

Not sad at all OP!!

Grayson

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

I think I'm becoming a little obsessed with these marvellous creatures. There seems to be tonnes of them around where I live in Northside Dublin. They fly from Arctic Canada and Norway to Ireland every winter.
Are they all over Ireland? I find it so interesting that they come all the way from the Arctic to suburban Dublin. They've probably been coming here for 1000s of years. I wonder could you eat one? I'm going to cycle to St Anne's park shortly and will see if there are many there.
Am I really sad?

There's only a few types of ecosystems that they like. They particularly like fens when they go inland. Unfortunately we've destroyed a lot of them. And fens take millennia to develop.

Dr Crayfish

Grayson wrote: »

There's only a few types of ecosystems that they like. They particularly like fens when they go inland. Unfortunately we've destroyed a lot of them. And fens take millennia to develop.

I never saw the word fen before. I wonder if they like Bull Island? That's quite marshy in places. I was just in St Anne's park and saw only one flock of Brenties.

Few months ago I saw a seagull brazenly swoop down and steal food from a man's hand in Grafton Street before quickly flying off again. The man didn't even have time to react.

Birds are awesome.

Widdershins

mattser wrote: »

Impressive formation alright. But the Starlings win the watch in that department. ( They leave a not so pretty formation on your house and car, the dirty gits )

That's called a Murmuration, I think.

Brendan Bendar

You would t be too fond of the Brents if you had to use the football pitches after them.

Leave a lot of slurry.

JustAThought

Grayson wrote: »

There's only a few types of ecosystems that they like. They particularly like fens when they go inland. Unfortunately we've destroyed a lot of them. And fens take millennia to develop.

The I Love St Annes campaign used the Brent Geese as one of the many reasons to object to the proposed building of appartments & houses on the playing fields/their annual feeding spot. Is this where you are seeing them?? If so make sure to take a few photos showing them in context ( wall & goalposts) & how many there are.
It is an amazing sight. And no you are not mad!!! Only good mad! And to watch them fly in formation down 'the mile' to the mudflats & marshlands at the other end of the park, honking as they go, is spectacular.

We need to protect the habitats of these anazing creatures or they will be no more. This flock - or their ancestors - has been flying there from the Arctic circle for hundreds of years. They also land where the zepplin used be stationed in Malahide Castle although this year that flock are worryingly mostly missing. They might be part of the twenty five thousand that landed in a snow storm on a lake polluted with acid & were all killed Fragile earth

On a nice note the lovely people in the Northern Ireland Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (yes-it exists!!) wrote a submission to Dublin City Council to protest on the building of houses in the olaying fields/their annual migration feeding ground when they heard what was going on. They are involved in lots of international bird counting volunteer organisations and you could get involved by volunteering to become a Brent Geese counter for St Annes ; or elsewhere!! It's seasonal & can lead to all kinds of mad conferences & adventures !!!

Anyway. Just a thought! We need to help our beautiful planet & often forgotten & innocent, beautiful wildlife.

And no !! You can't eat them! They are protected!! Its a criminal offense to eat the wildlife in St Annes ( seriously!) Its part of a protected wildlife sanctuary & has special legislation protecting it! I doubt the pigeons count!! Plus they're probably quite tough after all that transatlantic flapping! I can recommend Wongs across the road thou!!

uck51js9zml2yt

If you go over the bridge to the golf course on bull island there are usually a load of geese.

Seth Brundle

JustAThought wrote: »

They are protected!!

Seemingly this lad wasn't aware...
http://m.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/hunter-fined-after-best-day-ever-facebook-boast-showed-he-shot-protected-birds-35423794.html

Capt'n Midnight

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

I wonder could you eat one?

Yes, even during lent, because they are fish.

323

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Sure don't swallows spend winter in South Africa or thereabouts? Crazy to think the pair that often fly into our old ratty shed in Kerry to lay eggs each year travelled so far to do so

Indeed. Fascinating wee birds. Was working in Nigeria in October, hundreds of swallows around. Remember thinking might even be some of the ones sitting on the wires behind the house in September.

Widdershins

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

I never saw the word fen before.

I liked this book but sadly there doesn't seem to be an equivalent for Ireland. Although some of it applies to Ireland, too.
''Uncommon Ground: A word-lover's guide to the British landscape'' by Dominick Taylor.

ToddyDoody

Widdershins

ToddyDoody wrote: »

At least they don't hoick up the contents of their stomachs at you, like Cormorants do You'd never forget that smell

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Widdershins wrote: »

At least they don't hoick up the contents of their stomachs at you, like Cormorants do You'd never forget that smell

Having had the misfortune to be hit in the face by a spit from Kittiwakes on a few occasions, I'd swap for Cormorants any day.

Dr Crayfish

They're back! The football pitches near my house had loads of them today looked great with the snowy Dublin mountains in the background and 2 herons among the geese. Seemed to be even more this year! When do they feck off again, March?

tayto lover

Viviana Zealous Strawberry wrote: »

If you go over the bridge to the golf course on bull island there are usually a load of geese.

Loads of them at Greenore Golf Club too. They come every year.
8 Whooper swans in the pond too. Last year there were only 4.