In Pursuit of the Atlantic Brant: A Journey Through the Tabusintac Estuary
Back at the end of May, Nature NB staff drove up to the Acadian Peninsula to visit the Tabusintac lagoon and river estuary to look for the infamous Atlantic Brant. In this edition of NB Fieldnotes, join Lauren and Emilie who talk about their experience!
The Atlantic Brant is a distinct small goose with a black head, white necklace, brown body, and white under tail. Atlantic Brant spend part of the year in the Arctic to nest and breed then migrate south for the winter, stopping in bays, estuaries, and lagoons along the way to re-fuel by eating eelgrass and sedges. Atlantic Canada, and particularly the Tabusintac estuary boasts a wide abundance of eelgrass beds that are crucial for many aquatic species’ survival and because of this, is designated as a RAMSAR wetland of international importance for biodiversity. Because of the importance of this estuary and the lack of knowledge on the natural assets in the area, Nature NB joined local expert Billie-Joe Fowler from the Tabusintac Watershed Association to show us the best birding sites around town to look for Atlantic Brant along their migration northward to document their abundance.
The week prior to us arriving in Tabusintac, the weather was perfect spring days, sunny, about 15 °C, and a light breeze with low tides. We were hopeful to see Brant because Billie-Joe had seen a few hundred during that week out by the Tabusintac dune. When we arrived the following week it was about 8 °C, cloudy, high tides, with a blustery breeze rustling the tree branches, but that wouldn’t stop us from going out on our search for Atlantic Brant.
We set out on our adventure around 10am at Wishart Point Rd, a popular birding and walking spot among locals. There we saw a wide diversity of water birds including gulls, American wigeon, American black duck, blue-winged teal, red-breasted mergansers, lesser yellowlegs, double-crested cormorants, and geese. Most of these birds were resting in the water at high tide with some occasional feeding and diving. While we didn’t see Brant here that day, this spot seemed to be an important site for many species to rest.
Next, we set off to the Tabusintac wharf where we were greeted by the fellow wharf dog to show us around. This was a bustling site for fishermen, coming in and out of the wharf after their morning fishing trips, however, the abundance of birds was much lower, maybe because of all the commotion. We did however see a common tern feeding very close to shore, and several gulls and double-crested cormorants feeding out by the dune.
After our tour of the wharf, we headed towards Neguac, down Malpec road to get a better view out by the Neguac dune, which seems to be a popular feeding spot for many seabirds. On our way there, we passed by the Tabusintac Marina where we spotted a great blue heron and many cormorants resting on rocks. It was the same story at this site down Malpec road, with only a few double-crested cormorant and gulls in sight. At this point we thought the Brant were avoiding us! We wrapped up the day after getting an amazing guided and historical tour around town and started back up the next day at the same sites, as well as added a few others.
The next day, the weather was similar to the last, cloudy, windy, and high tides. Most of the birds that we saw were resting, likely waiting for better weather or lower tides to feed. We checked out a few extra sites this day including the end of Robertson Brook Rd., near Brantville and the Esgenoôpetitj Powwow grounds. Like its name suggests, Brantville is a hotspot for finding Brant along their migratory route feeding on eelgrass, so we were hopeful to find some the second day. Unfortunately, when we got there, there were no brant, but a bald eagle did put on a show for us, gliding around the tree tops and finally settling on its nest in the treeline. At this site, we also saw some red-breasted mergansers, geese, gulls, and double-crested cormorants. At this point we hypothesized that brant were very sensitive species, only coming out to feed when the weather is optimal and tides are low so that they can reach the eelgrass.
Our second to last stop was at the Esgenoôpetitj Powwow grounds which had stunning, almost 360° views of the bay. The water was a bit rough and choppy, splashing against the rocks on the shoreline. Similarly, here we didn’t see much more than gulls and cormorants flying overhead. Our last stop of the day was at the Tabusintac cemetery where Billie-Joe showed us the living shoreline that had been installed the year prior to reduce coastline erosion, and it held up very nicely over the winter. At this site we saw a pair of buffleheads and red-breasted mergansers, but sadly no brant.
The next day, we had to head back home but checked one more time for brant before we left with no luck. The week after we left, the weather was warmer, sunny, and low tides, and guess who decided to make an appearance… over 2000 Brant! From this information, we concluded that brant are very sensitive and will only feed closer to shore when the weather is optimal (or they were hiding from us). Although we may have failed our search for Atlantic Brant during our trip to Tabusintac, we learned valuable information about the estuary acting as a feeding and nesting place for a wide diversity of water birds and concluded that even if Brant are not observed at one given time, does not mean that this bay isn’t an important stop over site during their migration.
This trip highlighted the need to continue ongoing and long term monitoring of Atlantic Brant and other water birds to properly capture the diversity and abundance of natural assets in this estuary that need to be protected. Nature NB was so thankful for Billie-Joe showing us around Tabusintac and practicing our bird identification skills together for increased knowledge sharing and awareness in the region. Hopefully the next time we come, we will have better weather!
If you would like to get involved with bird surveying efforts in the Tabusintac region or other areas of the province, please contact info@naturenb.ca!
