Another Brent Geese Update

First of all I am very sorry to hear about the death of Roy Bamford - while I did not know him personally I always enjoyed reading his columns in the Cambrian News which were full of interesting observations and great knowledge. Regarding the Brent Geese, thanks to Graham at the Irish Brent Goose Research Group for a very speedy reply about the ringed Brent Geese at Ynyslas. It is really interesting to be able to follow the birds' movements. Both birds were ringed in May 2014 in Alftanes, a peninsula on the south-west coast of Iceland close to Reykjavik, which is an important stopover for migratory birds. 77WB was first re-sighted in November 2014 at Strangford Lough/Ringneill Bay in County Down in the east of Northern Ireland. From January 2015 onwards most sightings were of both birds together. In January 2015 they were at Donegal Bay/Mountcharles at the north-west coast of Ireland as part of a flock of 50 birds, then moved back to Iceland where they were seen in Alftanes in May 2015. In January and February 2016 they were back at Donegal Bay/Mountcharles as part of a flock of 39 birds, then again in Alftanes in April and May 2016. In September 2016, 77WB was seen at Strangford Lough again. Between November 2016 and January 2016 there where 3 sightings in Fouesnant/Cap Coz & Fouesnant/Anse de Saint-Laurent in Brittany, France. In November they were seen together with a juvenile bird. And from there they appear to have moved to the Welsh Coast. Graham will send more information at a later stage. For anyone interested: The correct way to read their ring numbers is to take the numbers from each leg ring starting with the right leg, followed by the colour of the rings again starting with the right leg. So the bird with the no. 7 rings would be 77WB, while the other bird is 69WB (it has lost its no. 9 ring on the left leg).