Grey Geese

Saturday, 10th February 2001, West Yorkshire

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SKEINS OF GEESE, perhaps 500 birds in all, fly south west over the house at 9 this morning. Although they're at about a thousand feet, we can hear them calling; a honking 'Auck! Auck! Auck!' Rather than staying in tight skeins

formation they seem to jostle for position so that instead of one or two neat 'V's they form four or five shallow 'U's, which change shape and blend into each other.

As they continue towards the horizon these grey chevrons start to blend with the grey wisps of cloud beyond. It's usually Canada Geese (as in the sketch above, top) that we see flying in formation, but today's rain shower

skein seemed to be flying higher than the Canadas. They appeared to be grey, so perhaps they were Pink-footed Geese, which winter with us.

Soon after the geese disappear it starts to rain and it then stays wet most of the day.

Do the geese know something that we don't?

Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator
E-mail; 'richard@willowisland.co.uk'

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