The absence of our Brent Geese from our coastline this past week has been very apparent. Which signifies that they have begun their lengthy journey back to their breeding grounds in Siberia, Russia.

We have three different subspecies of Brent Geese in the UK, and the ones that frequent our coastline in Kent are predominantly the Dark Bellied Brent Geese that breed in Siberia. Each year they travel around 6,000 miles between their breeding grounds and their wintering grounds. During each migration they stop over in what we call ‘staging grounds’ in order to rest and feed before continuing their journey.

They fly in loose formations, very rarely choosing to fly in the typical ‘V’ that we often associate with flocks of Geese. They fly in family groups, which they will stick with throughout migration and the breeding season. Brent Geese are nocturnal migrants, choosing to fly at night in order to avoid predators, and also to keep their body temperature low whilst flying. This means that Brent Geese rely heavily on the position of the stars in the night sky in order to find their way.

Brent Geese must stop in these various ‘staging grounds’ during their migration to and from their breeding grounds each year due to the fact they are unable to store enough calories to make the whole journey in one. Our Brent Geese have been noted to stop at different staging grounds in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland among others before arriving in Siberia to breed. These birds will stay at a specific staging ground for a number of weeks if there is a good source of water and food before moving on again at dusk.

The largest breeding ground is the north Siberian Tamyr peninsula, they arrive here in their family groups in late May/early June. Brent Geese are assumed to mate for life, producing one clutch of 3-5 eggs. Females incubate the eggs, whilst the male will guard the nest and provide food. Once hatched, the chicks will follow the parents around for 40-50 days before fledging into the wider family group. They will then migrate back to their wintering grounds within this family group. After the chicks fledge, the parents will moult their feathers leaving them flightless and incredibly vulnerable to predators. They then make the same journey back again, as the Arctic Tundra becomes uninhabitable, to join us once again on our coastline with (hopefully) increased numbers.

It is because of this huge ordeal that these Geese go through each year that we need to give them as much space as possible to feed and rest whilst they are here with us in the UK.