Branta leucopsis

Status: Rare (Less than annual)

Origins: Breeds mainly on the Arctic islands of the North Atlantic as close as Greenland, but does not normally occur in North America in any season. Although it has been reported in many locations throughout eastern Canada and the United States, origins are occasionally questionable due to their being kept commonly in captivity.

Record Details: Six records (18 individuals) for Newfoundland. (1) The first record was of two birds shot in Ladle Cove (near Carmanville) on December 5, 1981. One of those had been banded in Spitzbergen, Norway in 1977, verifying its wild origins. (2) Another was spotted on Funk Island off the northeast coast on August 8, 1997 – likely to be wild at such a remote location. (3) A third record consists of a bird shot on the Burin Peninsula in the fall of an unspecified year – subsequently stuffed and mounted. (4) Two individuals were shot at an undisclosed location on the Avalon Peninsula on October 16, 2021. (5) A flock of eight were present at Bonavista on April 14-20, 2022 – part of an influx of European species that week. (6) Part of the same event, a flock of four birds were first spotted flying west at Long Beach (near Cape Race) on April 14 and subsequently present at nearly Portugal Cove South on April 15-21, 2022.

* NOTE – This website is not an official account and “may” contain incorrect information and/or details of unconfirmed records. *