UKH

It's the time of year you see skeins of them flying overhead. They're usually calling out. Is it a discussion about which muddy field or pond they should head for? Come on goose behavioural scientists of UKC, spill the beans.

It's echo-location, the "Honks" reverberate back allowing the Geese to map the topography beneath them and assess for weather conditions ahead.

They are saying the King's speech was devoid of real policy and ideas and that no matter the dog whistles, bear traps and incendiary provocation the Tories are toast.

This is mindboggling, if true. It’s really hard to imagine what form that ‘mapped’ information would take. How they ‘read’ it.

Google thinks it's to help regulate their flying formation shape...

I knew someone would have put it through Google translate!

It's not true sadly.

Well you've seen cyclists talking as they ride in company, even in a peloton.

Geese, being spaced further and having greater airspeed, need to speak up a bit.

There has been quite a bit of research over the last few decades that seems to indicate that avian brains are not simpler than mammalian brains but are much more compact to achieve low weight and very high speed neural interconnection.  I think we have underestimated avian minds through the ages, based on some kind of chauvinism based on the fact that they don't have much ability for facial expression.

Are we there yet?

Its not geese you hear but the wild hunt seeking out new victims to drag into the eternal chase.

Sleep tight.

surely that's just the youngsters ?

Honk if you ❤️ Geesus!

Flap

Flap

Flap...

Bit busy here, innit?

Debating the grade of a certain gritstone route.

Goosey Goosey Gander (E5 6a)?

Are they honking the goose version of the dam busters theme tune?

Otherwise known as Ryanair.

Yay! Golden eggs.

I think we’ve bean here before with your made up stuff. 

Nice photo - the noise 2-3,000 Pink-footed geese make when they take off is just amazing.

Apparently, Greylag Geese are much quieter in flight, yet they fly around in large skeins as well. Maybe Pink-footed are just noisy buggers.

To BC: that's quite subtle, will fly over most people's heads 😁

Enough of the fowl yokes, just anser the question

Left a bit, right a bit, bomb bay doors open, fire!

Complaining about the bad SatNav connection due to Greylag

They are discussing new ways to be horrible to people.

The events in "Untitled Goose Game" are entirely factual.

From the river to the sea

Its quite simple:

Goose leader at the front calls to the (normally) two geese behind him, "change course to starboard 1 degree".

Those two geese pass this instruction to their two geese next down the V
Those two geese pass this instruction to their two geese next down the V

Those two geese pass this instruction to their two geese next down the V
Those two geese pass this instruction to their two geese next down the V two geese pass this instruction to their two geese next down the V, ad infinitum

Of course there's the odd one asking for a repeat, others simply don't hear and get squawked at, others don't pay attention and go of by a couple of degrees and get shouted at too.   Thats why its not a regular cry and sounds confused.

At this time of year.

Geese  remind us that turkey tastes so much better 

Why do you think they're all flying south...?

and if they are observing good discipline there will be a "Roger wilco out" coming back up the line to the leader

of course it sounds continuous but for all we know they might be using many channels, time division beak multiplexed with one of the geese providing clocking calls determining the channel slots

Wouldn't that mean that they would form a single line (possibly two parallel ones close to each other)?

Geese are known to fly in a V or in angled single file because  each bird obtains some lift from the air vortex created by the wing beats of the bird in front.  The vortex peels off to the side, so this wont work  if thy are flying directly in a  double or a single straight line ahead formation.  

For some reason, I can’t get the image of David Brent doing his stupid flappy dance out of my head. 

Yes, but if every bird adjusts their course by 1° starboard, then the only shape you'll get is a straight diagonal line.
What the geese need to do is to initially fly line astern and the leader gets them to number themselves 1,2,3, etc. from front to rear.  The lead geese then tells the odd numbers to deviate 1° starboard/right relative to the odd numbered goose in front of it and tells the evens to do the same but deviate to port/left.  
Fly straight the right flank!
Fly straight the left flank!

How do you know David is a Brent?

Wank, wank, wank.

I recall on a nature programme that the younger ones get shouted out to get back in line/formation by the older birds, by flying in the V formation it is more efficient and less draining on long distances, so when the younger ones break free they are wasting other birds energy resources. Just like unruly teenagers!

I think airlines have looked into this as well, although very dangerous it would save loads on fuel if planes flew in the V formation.

I'm sure the designers of the Vulcan Bomber looked into it!

As usual there's an obligatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/1729/

lMmmm?  Maybe  thats what they are doing already  It takes lots of instruction.  Prhaps these are geese under instruction and we don't notice the silent skeins of geese who are well trained......  

Hmmm, my subtle humour ain’t working so well…again. 

You may think it's subtle but I think Brent's crude.

and when they get there "The Boy's are Back in Town"

Just been watching thousands of pink feet today, including a group of a few thousand coming in to roost. Stunning - a full on wild life spectacle.  And also saw a rare ‘blue phase snow goose’. When I say ‘saw’, it was a whitish blob about a mile away. 

Sticking my neck out (lol) with some thread drift here…

we had a flock of 12 whooper swans flew over the other day. Brilliant. Super noise (honking, and the noise of their wings)

I love whoopers. Seen lots today. But my first memory:…

…I was about 12 and my Grandfather gave me a sliver coated Devon minnow to go pike fishing with. On Rydal. I waded out in my wellies and stood on a boulder. After a few cast I’d snagged the bottom, so he came over to me, grabbed my rod and said ‘it’s not the bottom, it’s a fish’.  Then this huge salmon lept clean out of the lake, shuck it’s head, sent my lure flying and that was that. He was more devastated than me. But I can still remember about 12 whoopers coming to land on the lake. That whopping noise. And they’re big!  

They might be discussing new words they have heard as they fly.  I heard one today for the first time, "Teledildonics"

Talk to me Goose

 

AI-controlled sex toys?

Probably something like "Stop effing up the climate you stupid human bastards- now we don't know whether we're coming or going!"

'Tele' suggests 'at a distance', so remotely controlled, I think.