Brant Goose (Branta bernicla) Science Article 9 abstract On the Dutch Wadden Sea island Texel, spring-fattening Dark-bellied Brent Geese Branta bernicla fed almost exclusively inland on improved grasslands, whereas the remainder of the flyway population utilised coastal salt-marshes elsewhere in the Wadden Sea. There are indications that inland pastures are ‘second choice habitat’ during this […]

Brant Goose (Branta bernicla) Science Article 5 abstract The numbers of Dark-bellied Brent Geese wintering in Britain have increased from 47 500 in 1976-77 to 90-95 000 in the early and mid-1980s. The proportion of the European population in Britain had been largely constant during this time, at 40-48%, though reaching 56-59% in some winters. […]

Brant Goose (Branta bernicla) Science Article 4 abstract The exploitation pattern of a salt marsh community by Brent Geese in spring is discussed. The two main vegetation types on the salt marsh, one dominated by Puccinellia maritima and the other characterized by the presence of Plantago maritima and Triglochin maritima, are grazed very intensively, so […]

Brant Goose (Branta bernicla) Science Article 3 abstract In wintering Brent Geese, annual assessments of the proportion of juveniles and the mean brood size have been made since the 1950s, allowing population dynamic analyses. Field procedures have never been quantitatively explored and were studied in four areas along the Dutch Wadden Sea in 1975/76. Juveniles […]

Brant Goose (Branta bernicla) Science Article 1 abstract We examined 70 years (1931-2000) of black brant Branta bernicla nigricans abundance on Humboldt Bay, California. We used linear regression to convert count data to a standard variable (use-days) for evaluating hypotheses that explain temporal trends in brant use. Winter and spring brant-days on Humboldt Bay declined […]

Brant Goose (Branta bernicla) Science Article 6 abstract The usage of the Boschplaat salt-marsh on Terschelling over a 30-year period by Brent Geese Branta b. bernicla, is compared with that on improved grassland on Texel. Natural salt-marsh turns out to be a preferred spring staging habitat. Spring feeding on grassland is a new phenomenon. An […]

Brant Goose (Branta bernicla) Science Article 7 abstract The use by Brent Geese of five pairs of winter cereal and pasture fields at Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, England was measured from November 1991 through the end of March 1992. A switch from winter cereals to pasture was observed between November and December. Monthly vegetation samples […]

Brant Goose (Branta bernicla) Science Article 2 abstract Age ratio (% juveniles) counts of Brent Goose flocks provide a crude index of their social composition (families versus subadults and failed breeders). In 1975/76, the possible impact of habitat and season was studied in four areas along the Dutch Wadden Sea. Sightings of birds colour-ringed in […]

Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) Science Article 1 abstract True metabolizable energy (TME) is a measure of avian dietary quality that accounts for metabolic fecal and endogenous urinary energy losses (EL) of non-dietary origin. The TME is calculated using a bird fed the test diet and an estimate of EL derived from another bird (Paired Bird […]

Black-bellied Tree-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) Science Article 1 abstract There are two distinguishable subspecies of the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, one in South America to eastern Panama and one from western Panama through Central America to the southernmost United States. The type locality of the species is the West Indies, but there is little evidence that birds from […]