Paul Castelli

ABSTRACT Between January and March in 2002 and 2003, we captured Atlantic brant (Branta bernicla hrota; hereafter brant) and attached 59 very high frequency (VHF) transmitters and 22 platform transmitter terminals (PTTs) to investigate annual patterns of spatial and temporal distribution. We identified 2 major staging areas: western Long Island, New York, USA and portions of James Bay in Québec and Ontario, Canada. We did not observe any brant using the historic migration route along the Atlantic Coast to stage in Sept Îsle, Québec in the St. Lawrence estuary. Timing of migration events varied between years with longer duration of staging in James Bay during 2002, when weather conditions were poor despite good conditions further north on the breeding grounds in the Foxe Basin. During the breeding season marked brant were found on the islands and eastern shoreline of the Foxe Basin, Southampton Island, and Coats Island, Nunavut, Canada. We found no evidence that brant from specific n...

... PAUL M. CASTELLI, New Jersey Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife, Nacote Creek Research Station, PO Box 418, Port Republic, NJ 08241 ... Accumulation of ice on neck bands can cause direct mortality as re-ported by Ballou and Martin (1964), MacInnes (1966), Greenwood ...