Spending time with the volunteers who flock to count brant geese
The brant count runs from the start of the birds' migrating season, around the end of February, until the last goose is counted, which can last until May. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm
Editor’s note: Participant commentary in the audio version of this story has been paraphrased for the written version.
On the shoreline of Vancouver Island, there are things you are certain to hear: crashing waves, birds chirping, and running water from nearby streams. But every week on Monday mornings, there is one sound in particular that a group of volunteers would be looking for.
On the day CHLY joined, volunteers from the Arrowsmith Naturalists listened for sounds of brant geese, the migratory bird the volunteers were there to survey.
These volunteers are a part of the annual brant geese count, where volunteers once a week survey different parts of the Parksville and Qualicum Beach shoreline to observe and count the number of brant geese.
Rain or shine, around 30 volunteers head out in groups to different areas to count the brants. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm
The black brant (Branta bernicla) is a small sea goose which breeds in the Arctic and usually spends the winter in the Mexican state of Baja California.
During their migration from Mexico to the Arctic, the geese are known to spend time on the West coast of Canada, where they rest and feed on local eelgrass.
The brant count runs from the start of the birds' migrating season, around the end of February, until the last goose is counted, which can last until May.
Rain or shine, around 30 volunteers head out in groups to different areas to count the brants.
CHLY spent the day with the volunteers, going to select locations to search for the geese.
Group two consisted of Toni Wyckoff, Linda Horspool, and Liz and Jim Thorne. They overlook the central part of the Oceanside area, which is usually the most popular location for brants.
The first stop for group two was at the French Creek Marina, where French Creek meets the ocean.
Toni Wyckoff is one of the volunteers in charge of noting the total brants observed.
She said they normally stay at each spot for about ten minutes surveying the brants.
“Sometimes it's only five minutes if there's nothing there. It's just to observe everything that's flying in,” she said.
Along with the brants, the group notes the total number of other types of birds they observed in the area.
No brants were seen at the marina, but the volunteers were not worried, as the next destination tends to be where the birds hang out.
Along with the brants, the group notes the total number of other types of birds they observed in the area. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm
Wyckoff explained that the number of brant will change each week, but the French Creek Marina doesn’t tend to be a popular spot for the brant.
“On an average day, at the height, there have been 2,000 [at Columbia Beach]. The last time I was there, I saw about 1,500, so it's hard to say,” she said.
Next up was Columbia Beach, a usually popular spot for the brants to rest at. Last week, the group saw several thousand geese, but this week, the group wasn’t so lucky.
“Nope,” Linda Horspool said while looking at the brantless beach.
The group still stayed surveying all the birds that were flying around the sky.
While Horspool and Liz Thorne used their scopes to view birds floating far out on the ocean, Jim Thorne used a far-distance zoom lens to capture images of geese flying at a distance that could not be seen by a human eye.
During their migration from Mexico to the Arctic, the geese are known to spend time on the West coast of Canada, where they rest and feed on local eelgrass. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm
Jim mentioned that you never know where the birds will be. He said it’s almost like an untold bird thing.
“The next beach we go to, there could be hundreds, or maybe [other volunteers] are seeing hundreds down at Rathtrevor Beach,” Jim said.
Liz also added that the geese like to be in a spot where the feeding is easy for them.
“It depends on where the eelgrass is, they like it better if it's all covered with herring spawn. But, they also like places where they can just sit and soak up the sun,” Liz said.
The group hung out while surveying the other local birds until something was spotted in the sky.
The flock of about 30 brant geese quickly flew past the group, going North towards Alaska. Everyone quickly looked through their scoops to count how many there were and captured photos of them as they flew past.
The group continued on to other locations that are all usually hot spots for the geese, but the group was again met with a lacklustre sight.
At the end of the outing, the group counted a total of 77 brant geese while hearing that other survey groups were counting brants into the thousands in usually less-populous areas.
As the group said their goodbyes, they made plans to see each other at next week’s count, guessing how many brants would be making an appearance on the Pacific shorelines then.
To learn more about the brant geese count and the Arrowsmith Naturalists, see their website at arrowsmithnats.org.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.