Black Brant Branta bernicla nigricans

Rare but fairly regular winter vagrant

2025 South Swale LNR, adult, 11th October until 8th November.
2024 Leysdown-on-Sea, single bird, 10th December.
  Grenham Bay, single bird, remained from 2023 until 6th January.
2023 Kingsdown, adult bird, 12th March, and relocated to Dover Harbour on 13th.
  Lower Halstow, adult bird, 6th March.
  North Foreland/Foreness, adult bird, from 27th February until 6th March.
  Swalecliffe/Whitstable, adult bird, 2nd, and 20th February.
2022 Reculver/Minnis Bay, adult bird, 29th-30th October.
  Seasalter, one, possibly two, adults, 19th October until 3rd December.
  Seasalter, adult, 18th-20th March, assumed to be one of Reculver birds.
  Swalecliffe, adult, 7th February, assumed to be one of Reculver birds.
  Oare Marshes, adult, 22nd-23rd January, assumed to be one of Reculver birds.
  Hoo Marshes, adult, present from 12th-20th January, assumed to be one of Reculver birds.
  Reculver/Minnis Bay, the bird from 2021 remained until 7th March, and was joined by a second bird on 21st January, and 13th-25th February.
2021 Funton Creek, adult, 11th-13th December.
  Reculver Marshes, adult, 4th-31st December.
  Seasalter and Swalecliffe, adult, 24th-25th November and 17th December.
  Seasalter, single bird, 12th-19th October.
  Reculver Marshes, adult, 14th-15th March.
2020 Seasalter, single bird, 22nd October.
2019

Seasalter, single bird, 29th October.

2018

Shellness/Harty Marshes, two birds, 16th April.

 

Lower Stoke, single bird, 18th March.

2017

Pegwell Bay, single bird on 30th November.

 

Lower Halstow, single bird, 27th May.

 

South Swale LNR and Seasalter, two birds, February until 18th March.

 

Chetney, single bird, 15th January, may have been same as bird in Swalecliffe-Whitstable on 9th and 22nd.

2016

Chetney, single bird, 18th December.

 

Pegwell Bay, single bird, 25th October.

 

South Swale LNR, single bird, 15th-16th October.

 

South Swale LNR, single bird, 8th October.

 

Pegwell Bay/Foreness, single bird, 27th February until 7th March.

 

South Swale LNR, two birds, 5th February.

 

Swale, single bird, 5th-24th February.

 

Lower Halstow, single bird, 23rd January.

2015

South Swale LNR, adult, from 2014, remained in the area until at least 13th January, with the bird at Hoo Saltmarsh on 30th March was perhaps the same individual.

2014

Swalecliffe, adult, 20th October, was likely the returning bird, and was also seen at South Swale LNR on 9th November, Shellness on 16th November, and Lower Halstow on 17th and 19th December.

 

Dungeness, one flew west, 15th October.

 

Lower Halstow, adult, 2nd-13th January, was no doubt the bird from 2013, while one at South Swale LNR on 14th was perhaps the same.

2013

Lower Halstow, adult, presumably same, 11th December to year end.

 

Lower Halstow, adult, 18th-27th January, and again on 19th March.

2012

Reculver, adult, 9th December.

2010

Reculver, adult, 15th January.

2009

Pegwell Bay, one present, 1st November.

 

Reculver, adult, 2nd-13th January.

2008

Swale, adult, 3rd-14th December.

 

Cliffe, adult flew west, 4th November.

 

Hoo flats, adult, 1st-5th May.

 

Grain, adult, 27th-30th January, and perhaps same bird St. Mary's Bay 21st February.

2007

Grain to Halstow Marshes, adult, seen several times, 17th November until 1st December.

 

Yantlet Creek/Allhallows, adult, 26th March, and again 23rd April until 19th May, presumed to be the same as January Lower Halstow and Yantlet bird.

 

Reculver, a different adult from Lower Halstow bird, 25th-26th February, then Swalecliffe on 28th, and back at Reculver 13th March, all presumed to be same bird.

 

Yantlet Beach, adult, 18th February, presumed to be the Lower Halstow bird.

 

Lower Halstow, adult, on the Medway, 1st January.

2006

South Swale LNR, adult, 15th-16th November, and again at Reculver, 19th November to 7th December.

 

Yantlet Creek/St. Mary's Marsh, first-winter, 6th-22nd January.

 

Reculver, adult, remained from 2005 until 24th March.

2005

Motney Hill, adult, 26th December.

 

Reculver, adult, 18th November, remaining until the year end, having been seen at Swalecliffe on 11th December.

 

Harty Ferry, two adults, from 13th February, with one remaining until 24th February, and the other until 13th March.

 

Chetney Marshes, adult present, 2nd January, considered being same bird as 2004.

2004

Lower Halstow, adult present, 12th December.

2002

Funton Creek, one present, 9th November.

2001

Two birds remained from 2000, one at Reculver until 3rd March, and the other at Swalecliffe/Whitstable until 17th January.

2000

Shellness, 2nd-29th October, with presumably same bird Tankerton/Swalecliffe from 3rd November.

Joined by second bird 19th-26th November, with this bird remaining into 2001.

One of the two was also at Reculver on 2nd-3rd December.

 

Motney Hill, one bird, 1st-2nd October.

1999

Dartford, single bird on Thames, 13th November.

1998

South Medway, one present, 13th-25th April.

1997

High Halstow, one present, 16th-23rd February, and again from 3rd-8th March.

 

Motney Hill, one present, 2nd-30th November.

 

Motney Hill, two birds, 7th April.

 

Horsham Marsh, Medway, single bird, 18th January until 2nd February, is considered to be the same bird of winter 1995/96.

St. Mary's Bay, Thames, same bird 16th-23rd February.

1996

St. Mary’s Marsh, one over wintering from 3rd December 1995, until 13th January.

 

Motney Hill, one over wintering from 25th November 1995, until 13th February.

 

Allhallows, one present, 13th January, presumed same bird as December 1995.

1995

Allhallows, one present, 3rd December.

 

South Medway estuary, two birds, 2nd November until end of year.

 

Swale area. Single bird on several dates between 12th January and 25th February, with perhaps the same bird at Reculver/Minnis Bay from 4th-5th march.

1991

Reculver, adult, 16th-24th February, and again on 9th March. Assumed to be the same bird as that of 1990.

1990

Swalecliffe, adult, 23rd October until 4th November, and was later seen in Sheppey and Reculver areas until at least 30th November.

1987

Sandwich Bay, one present, 21st March.

1985

Shellness, one present, 20th-27th January, with two birds on 29th.

1984

Leysdown/Shellness, one wintered and was joined by second bird from 8th December.

1974

Medway, adult, February, no exact dates.

The Kent Ornithological Society was founded in 1952

Our aims are to record and monitor the county’s bird life providing both an accurate historical record of Kent’s birds but equally importantly providing data that can be used to help protect valuable habitats from development and other threats.

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