The Brent Geese are the symbol of the return of emigrants to Ireland. These are the birds which gave rise to the Irish icon of the ‘Flight of the Wild Geese’. It was always believed that the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell who set sail from Loch Swilly in 1607 would eventually return to Ireland. They never returned to their native land but the geese are still with us.

Every year Light-bellied Brent Geese embark on an amazing journey, flying over 8,000 km in a round trip from Ireland to Canada and then back again. During this journey they stop over in Iceland, taking a short rest during Spring to prepare for the long haul to their Canadian breeding grounds in the High Arctic. They can fly at 60-70km/hr.

The spring migration in April to May is usually staged with stopping points in Ireland, before flying on to Iceland. After a stopover which can be up to 8 weeks, they fly across southern Greenland and then northwest to the Queen Elizabeth Islands where they breed. The summer is short, only 2 to 3 months, but food is plentiful and there is 24 hours of light.

Ireland supports the main population of these ‘Pale Bellied Brent’. The ‘Dark Bellied Brent’, which breed in northern Siberia, winter in mainland Europe and the UK but individuals sometimes show up here. There is also an exclusively North American race the ‘Black Brent’ breeding in northwest Canada and wintering in the western US states and Japan.

The geese lay 3 to 5 eggs. When the young hatch, the adult birds moult leaving them flightless for two weeks. The eggs are laid in the snow, which is just thawing when they arrive in May. When the goslings are reared they will be ready for the long haul back. They are great timekeepers, spending just eighty-two days in the high Tundra.

There have been records of Brent during the summer here, though usually through injury. Numbers have been increasing in the last few years with around 800 being recorded in peak months in the South Bay. The highest count was in February 2006 with 1005 recorded in the area.

You can see them any morning feeding on the zostera beds at Merrion Gates. Zostera is a sea grass, a highly specialised plant and of world importance, because like the geese it is also under threat. It has an extraordinarily high sugar content, needed by the geese as a special energy buzz after their round-the-hemisphere trip.

They can also be seen grazing beside Irishtown Nature Park and on Seán Moore Park, where they compete for space with the Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA club.

To keep up with the geese and obtain more information, visit www.wwt.org.uk/supergoose and bbc.co.uk/autumnwatch. Also see www.birdweb.net/iwebs.html.

Brian Gormley of the South Dublin Branch of BirdWatch told ‘NewsFour’ that “The Brent Geese are under considerable pressure in the South Bay through development of what used to be open grazing land. There is also continual disturbance on the beach from walkers and dog walkers in particular, albeit usually unintentional.

“If people and their dogs kept a distance from the geese when they are on the ground and allowed them graze in peace, it would be a major step forward.

“If things continue as they are going, there is every chance that the Brent will desert the South Bay totally in the next few years through disturbance and loss of habitat.”