WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Brant goose hunting season is coming up in Whatcom County, but those in Skagit won’t be as lucky.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that hunts for brant geese in Whatcom County are allowed on Jan. 18, 22 and 25.

Skagit County will remain closed to brant hunting this season due to low counts in the winter. The department’s waterfowl section manager Kyle Spragens says the winter surveys tallied just under 2,000 brant geese in Skagit, well short of the 3,000-bird minimum requirement.

Brant are a migratory species with a sleek black head, white “necklace” marking and distinct brown and black body feathers with striking white flank feathers.

All brant hunters need to have a valid migratory bird authorization and brant harvest report card. Whatcom County hunters are reminded to review Lummi Nation boundaries relevant to Bellingham and Lummi Bays.