04/29/2026
Each spring Brant geese flock to the shores of in the thousands. They winter primarily in Baja California, Mexico and make their way north in late winter, taking a long layover in Canada to fuel up on eel grass, before continuing their long journey to the Arctic, where they will spend the summer breeding.
There's an entire festival dedicated to their stopover in Parksville and Qualicum: the which just celebrated its 35th year!
There is also an incredible bit of citizen science that has been going on annually since the 1990s, and that is a population survey of the Brant. Each week from February through April, dedicated volunteers split into three groups once per week to take a head count of Brant. I was fortunate to tag along to document the count this year, and meet some of the people dedicated to continuing the annual survey. Three groups split up, and equipped with binoculars and spotting scopes, head out to beaches and estuaries from Rathtrevor all the way up to Little Qualicum Estuary. Some weeks the Brant count is in the literal thousands!
Brant relies fully on eel grass to fuel their migration, so naturally they go where the eel grass is. They are a very timid bird, they stick together in their flock and are easily scared off by dogs, which is why there is a "no dogs allowed on the beach" policy set up in March and April.
As I write this, the Brant are headed north to their next stop in Alaska to fuel up again, before their final destination in the Arctic to breed. In early autumn, they will then take a direct flight home back to Mexico!
