Hi Linda,
It does look a bit chaotic at times, doesn’t it. But each bird is working for
its own advantage. The lead bird tires more quickly than the others and drops
back soon to find an easier place. You probably know all of this already. It’s
a form of drafting much like cyclists trailing close behind another or
tailgating behind a large semi. The wind coming off of the back and wingtips
can give at advantage to the trailing bird. The second bird is also slightly
above the front bird, although this can’t be easily seen from the ground. A
V-formation works best as each bird can then get an advantage from the bird
ahead of it. As birds travel a long distance they need to drop back from a lead
position more frequently to conserve energy so trading places happens more
often. The advantage of drafting is significant and does help with those long
flights.
As for all the vocalizing - Geese are generally more constantly vocal while
flying in formation than when on the ground. It’s thought that this helps
maintain flock integrity and help individuals with their positioning in the
flock. A V-formation not only helps each individual but helps the flock as a
whole and allows for the least energy expenditure overall. It can sound very
noisy but the vocalizations help each bird and thereby, the whole flock
benefits and keeps energy expenditure to a minimum on long-distance flights.
Dan Gleason
Dan Gleason
Owner, Wild Birds Unlimited of Eugene
Ornithology Instructor, retired, University of Oregon
dan-gleason@xxxxxxxxxxx
On Apr 12, 2024, at 10:34 AM, Linda Fink <linda@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
This morning about 8 a.m. a skein of laughing geese (aka White-fronted
Geese) flew over our farm going south to north. It's a wonder they ever get
anywhere as disorganized as their skein is, with birds dropping back,
crossing over, wandering around, all the while laughing their heads off.
Strange birds.
Linda Fink, SW Yamhill County near Grand Ronde Agency
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