THE WISDOM OF GEESE

Posted: 08.09.20 in Articles category

September brings the geese. Tens of thousands of them arrive in Britain during the month. In Northumberland the first to arrive are the Brent Geese - the pale-bellied variety from Svalbard which exclusively come to Holy Island to feed on the Zostera (aka Eel grass). In recent years totals have exceeded 5000, but their numbers can be more than matched by the Pink-footed Geese wintering across the county. Yet our highest Northumbrian counts relate to a species of goose that largely passes through. Barnacle Geese fly over in late September and October, on route to their wintering grounds on the Solway in South-West Scotland. During autumn migration I sometimes see and hear them from home as they fly overhead - skeins of geese following one after the other, usually in a southerly direction.

Why 'the wisdom of geese'? Various commentators have noted their cooperative social behaviour, particularly in flight. Typically geese fly together in V-formation with one goose taking the lead and the others flying in line behind to benefit from the reduced air friction they experience. When that lead bird tires it drops back into the formation and another goose takes over, hence rotating the leadership role. All the while the birds honk, it is said, to encourage those up front to maintain their speed. It is highly contentious to ascribe human motivations to other animals including geese, but it is clear that geese in flight behave cooperatively for their mutual benefit.

Whatever the motivations, bird behaviour can be viewed as metaphor as many a Christian preacher over the years has claimed. One such was Dr Robert McNeish of Baltimore who in 1972 preached a sermon on 'Lessons from the Geese' with 5 key points about teamwork that a church should learn. Chief of these is the basic tenet of teamwork itself. In the words of Ecclesiastes chapter 4, "two are better than one".