We occasionally see an Atlantic brant here in Alabama on our Tennessee River impoundments in winter, but it's not a common thing and usually raises typical questions from hunters such as "What is that?" and "Are those legal?"

Years ago I hunted in coastal Maine, one of the coolest and best hunts I've ever been on. We shot fat eiders and got buzzed by some Old Squaw, but didn't see any brant. Having grown up hunting Canada geese and hearing about the Southern James Bay population that migrates (far fewer in number now, unfortunately) to our area, the brant always has been an interesting mystery for me. Not so much as "gotta kill one!" but more to learn about them.

Wildlife officials in New York, New Jersey and Canada are trying to do the same thing. Biologists with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and Canadian Wildlife Service are collaborating on a multi-year study into the Atlantic brant's migration and breeding ecology.

According to the New Jersey DFW, Atlantic brant spend the winter primarily along the coast of New Jersey and Long Island, New York. In spring, they migrate about 2,000 miles to breed in the eastern Canadian Arctic. This study has multiple objectives which will guide Atlantic brant conservation on the wintering, staging and breeding grounds.

Check out the video below to learn more. The video was produced cooperatively by the New York DEC and New Jersey DFW.