Four Pale-bellied Brent geese (also known as Light-bellied) (Branta bernicla hrota) have been present, mostly distant, in the waters around Sully Island on the Welsh south coast for a week or so and, during last Friday’s walk, I was very fortunate to find them feeding along the shore line in Swanbridge bay.

There are four distinct races of Brent goose, depending on the colour of their bellies (some are dark-bellied – see my November 2022 post A rare visitor to Cardiff Bay) and where they breed (the Bird Guides website has a good article on the different sub-species). Pale-bellied Brents found on the western shores of Britain are almost certainly from the population that breeds in Canada, and they usually overwinter in Iceland.

However, population expansion (the Canadian population doubled between the mid 1990s and mid 2000s, according to one article I found) has led the excess numbers to find other overwintering locations, including sites like Anglesey and Morecambe Bay. There has for some time been a very small population at Aberthaw approximately 10 miles west of Sully Island along the south Wales coast. Perhaps, if numbers continue to increase, more Pale-bellied Brents will move further east, and we will be lucky enough to see these beautiful birds in my neighbourhood more often.