Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Brant (Branta bernicla)

Abundance: Occasional (2 records in 2 counties, 1 in Kentucky and 1 in Tennessee, each involving a single individual).

Status: Visitor during spring (2 records); photographs (see links below).

Information on Records: 

7 May 2005 (1 adult) Bon Air, White County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman photo, Douglas A. Downs, Joseph E. Mast; Casteel 2005c; Hoff 2005d); a Spring Bird Count record; photo.

14/15/20-25 May 2005 (1 adult) Twin Lakes, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Laura Kamperman photo/C. Gay Hodges/Roseanna M. Denton photo, Ben Yandell et al.; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2005c; Yandell 2008); a Spring Bird Count record; photo (20 May 2005; Pumphouse Pond, Pulaski County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton).

Habitat: Typically present at sites frequented by Canada Geese, as was the case for each of the sightings noted above.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Remarks: Although the provenance of the birds involved in the two Regional sightings remains, and probably will remain, uncertain, it is noteworthy that Brant are considered to be the latest migrating of the North American geese and that they are apparently seldom kept by those who raise waterfowl.  Although we can never know whether these sightings pertain to one individual or two different individuals, the former possibility is tempting to contemplate.

Counties with Observations (boldfaced):

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying the data in the table above, click on the boldfaced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited