Evidence of Brent Geese Branta bernicla moving between an autumn staging area in east Hokkaido and wintering sites in west Hokkaido and northern Honshu

Abstract

The Brent Goose Branta bernicla population of East Asia is the least studied. We banded 24 Brent Geese at Notsuke Bay, east Hokkaido, Japan, in autumn, and collected six opportunistic sightings of these birds during winter, contributing to an understanding of their migratory movements to wintering sites in Japan. Birds were resighted at five widely distributed wintering sites in west Hokkaido and northeast Honshu. While this study showed that birds moved between Notsuke Bay and wintering sites elsewhere in Japan, further studies are needed to understand the migration patterns and routes used during autumn and spring in East Asia.