#branta

Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis), hanging out in a flock of Canada Geese, family Anatidae, NJ, USA

This bird normally occurs in parks of northern Coastal Europe and SIberia. It is very rarely seen in the U.S.

guys. its canada goose. not canadian

Canada Goose Branta canadensis Anatidae

Common Name: Brant Species: Branta bernicla

Description: A black goose that lives on the coasts Motto: It's a BRAN-eat-bran world.

Conservation: Least Concern Range: Coasts of northern Europe, Japan, China, the USA, and Mexico in the winter; Arctic Circle coasts in the breeding season Habitat: Coastal estuaries, grasslands, and coastal tundra

Food: Cereal grains, grass, seaweed, sea lettuce, and eelgrass Breeding Info: Monogamous single-brood social ground-nesters, with 3-5 eggs and biparental care Sound: hrrrrRRRRRONK

Life List Notes: Another central New York find for me, a very long time ago. Haven't seen any since, although I'd like to, so I'll have to get one that one of these days. A former grad student in the lab I'm doing my own doctoral studies in wasn't a big bird person, but they knew Brant, so they would say that to them, there were two types of bird: Brant and not-Brant. And, to be fair, they weren't wrong.

Previous: SNGO

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Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

Continents: North America, Europe, New Zealand

I have a feeling this submission might be deleted because Canadian geese do live in the US, but they’re really a Canadian thing IMO (it’s in the name). Also, I grew up around them, and they’re really not as violent as you’d think: despite Canadian children making a game out of chasing them around, I’ve never met anybody who’s been bitten.

A large brown goose with a black neck and white chinstrap. Overall size, bill size, and brown coloration variable across subspecies. Occurs in any open or wetland habitat, from city parks and golf courses to pristine marshes and Arctic tundra. Typically in flocks or family groups. Often seen in mixed flocks with Cackling Goose, especially in central and western North America. Abundant and widespread throughout the U.S. and Canada; rare in Mexico. Introduced and widely established in Europe. Listen for loud honking calls, especially as flocks migrate overhead in the classic V formation. (eBird)

Common Swift (Apus apus)

Continents: Africa, Asia, Europe

"Swallows are really neat but swifts are so cool and fast and brilliant. Their colour is beautiful. They are not passeriformes [songbirds], which is also cool, and their feet are SO WEIRD"

"I love swifts, we got them in the street I grew up in every summer. The swifts' arrival means the beginning of summer to me, and when they leave, almost mysteriously, it's the end. We had a nest in the eaves just above our bathroom window, and swifts would return to it every year. I can't go back to where I grew up easily any more, and the sound and sight of swifts overhead always feels like the glimpse of a hug from home. One of my favourite things in the world is a sky full of gathering grey clouds and screaming, wheeling swifts ahead of a breaking summer storm. Submitting from the UK."

"they're sooo fast. so fast. and i love their little cacophonies"

"They don’t exactly live in your back garden but they’re a bird you often see zipping along through the air. In the Netherlands, seeing the first ones of the year really reminds you that spring and summer are coming. There’s a saying that when you see this birds flying low, it’s going to start raining hard very soon and they’ve never let me down. Also, these birds are hardcore. Unless they’re chicks or taking care of their own young, they’re flying around 99% of the time. They sleep in the air, they have sex in the air, they spend the first 3 years of their life never landing— until the time comes to raise their young. Isn’t that cool!!!"

Image Sources: goose (Andy Wilson), swift (Anonymous)

watch out!