Saturday, September 12, 2009

a little more about Canada Geese....

Their calls stir so many thoughts, feelings, memories and emotions inside of me, having grown up on a property with 2 ponds and 3 families of geese for the first 15 years of my life... One of my advisors, Veda Andrus from Goddard College shared this story with me, and I'll share it with you here. It's pretty amazing.

The Goose Story
Next fall, when you see Geese heading South
for the winter… flying along in V formation…
You might consider what science has discovered
as to why they fly that way:

As each bird flaps its Wings, it creates
an Uplift for the bird immediately following.

By flying in V formation the whole flock adds
at least 71% greater flying range
than if each bird flew on its own.

When a goose falls out of formation
it suddenly feels the drag and resistance
of trying to go it alone… and quickly
gets back into the formation to take advantage
of the lifting power of the bird in front.

When the Head goose gets tired it rotates back
in the Wing and another goose flies Point.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front
to keep up their speed.

Finally… and this is Important… when a goose gets sick,
or it is wounded by Gunshots, and falls out of Formation
two other geese fall out with that goose and
follow it down to lend help and protection.
They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly
or until it dies; and only then do they launch out
on their own, or with another Formation
to catch up with their group.

Dr. Harry Clarke Noyes

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