As I’ve done every year for the past several years, I spent Thanksgiving holiday in New Jersey, my home state. In between dinner preparations and visiting, I was able to get out to do some bird watching.

My sister, Diane, and I went down to Liberty State Park in Jersey City one evening. It was one of our favorite places to go when we were younger. Although I am always saddened to see that it has lost much of its wildlife habitat over the years, and is host to many feral cats, it is still possible to see birds there.

As we approached a large expanse of lawn, I caught sight of a large flock of brant geese. Diane tried to photograph them, but the more we tried to approach them, the farther away the geese moved. They were not quite as tolerant of people as are the more common Canada geese.

So I suggested a different tactic. Instead of trying to follow along behind them, we detoured around them until we were parallel with the main body of the flock. We then just moseyed along, pretending not to notice the birds. I imagined to any onlooker it must have seemed as if we were strolling down the field with the geese and, in fact, we were. Our nonchalant attitude and lack of focus on the birds allowed us to get within several feet of them – good enough for a decent photo.

It was also a great opportunity to observe the behavior between members of the flock. In several instances, a goose would assume the “forward threat posture,” and chase its neighbor away by a well-aimed bite – or the threat of one – to the posterior.

Brant geese accompany their young on their first migration (as do other geese), so a wintering flock may contain families, individual juvenile birds, unmated adults and adults without young. Adults with young may defend the feeding area around their goslings, according to the “Birds of North America,” species account. Juveniles and other adult birds will be chased away.

Since the birds were grazing on the short grass and clover as they moved along, I wondered if this was, in fact, what was happening.

I’ve always enjoyed encountering this medium-sized goose, if only for the fact it was so different from the too-familiar Canada goose. Smaller, darker, with a somewhat rounded body and a shorter neck, the brant goose displays an elegant appearance. It’s different enough to seem exotic.

Unlike the Canada goose, which breeds throughout the continental U.S. and Canada, the brant is primarily a low-to-high Arctic breeder. In the eastern U.S., it winters along the mid-Atlantic coast. Other populations winter along the West Coast, from the Pacific Northwest down to Mexico, as well as Japan and Ireland. Thus, it makes “among the longest and most spectacular migrations of all waterfowl,” according to the BNA.

I wondered what summer on their breeding grounds was like for the birds, and what their journey here was like – flying nonstop from Arctic Canada all the way to Jersey City, N.J. What a dubious destination.

My sister and I soon left the flock in peace, and I watched as they were hidden by the approaching darkness. I hoped the environment to which they had traveled would be enough to sustain them through the winter.

Chris Corio, the BDN bird columnist, may be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net