The Chaos of the Flock

              Flocking behavior in birds is chaos, though seemingly organized, and always like magic. For centuries scientists, philosophers, and laymen have searched for the mechanism causing the concerted movements in a flock; God, magic, magnetic fields? Most assuredly it has something to do with the first and many recent studies point towards the latter too. Whatever it is, it’s incredible.

              This was a lot to ponder after just one cup of coffee while watching such a flock in the chill this morning. My flock was incessantly loud, mostly black-and-white, of varying sizes, with some browns thrown in…yep, geese. It was primarily Snow Geese (“blues” included) with a smattering of Ross’s Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese, often known by the moniker, “specklebelly”.

Snow Geese in Lawrence County, AR

              This morning, I was the only human around along a deserted stretch of recently flooded highway. I had 15000 geese all to myself! The flock, most likely multiple flocks, spanned from right next to the road to a half-mile out. Since it was early, they hadn’t had a reason to disperse for the day yet. As I stood watching in awe and taking photos, the flock would come to life and shift around in response to some suspected disturbance. This happened several times, sending small groups up into the air to circle over me and back to the main flock.

Ross's Geese (the smaller ones) flying point for Snows (the bigger ones)...an interesting lineup.

The feeling of a flock taking off and circling back over you is indescribable. The only time the geese are caught out of concert is while on the ground. All is calm, with the normal level of cackling and squeaking as the busybodies wander across the field eating, greeting, and probably arguing. A mere split-hair second of silence ensues which the brain barely has time to register before the flock explodes. Wall to wall wings rise in a deafening roar from the ground where, seconds ago, all was calm. Somehow the chaos is organized, all geese rising and flying in generally the same direction. Specklebellies and snows were in their own micro-flocks moments before, but species no longer matters as all fight for survival.

Fight or flight? The answer is almost always flight for a Snow Goose.

Often a response is a false alarm and the birds return to start the process over again. Layer after layer, plane after plane the geese, landing gear extended, descend in a graceful glide back to their fun. But happy endings sometimes don’t come to pass and after such a violent response today, I knew better. The sentry on duty was sharp in spotting a Bald Eagle. At the beginning it can be hard to locate the source of the confusion amidst, well, the confusion. It’s not long before the eagle shows itself via parting the Goose Sea. It dives on a slow snow and bam! Goose and eagle crash to the ground kicking and gnashing, but it’s too late for the goose that already has blood running down the clean white feathers of its neck; eyes crazed and fearful as life quickly escapes it. The eagle half flies, half drags its prey to the far edge of the field where it dines for the next hour. The other 14999 geese form “V”s and disperse into smaller flocks to bide the rest of the day.

              I’m not squeamish and am, therefore, always on the eagle’s side. The trauma and excitement of nature is exhilarating, not to mention when you’re in a blizzard of Snow Geese the entire time.

"Blue" & standard Snow Geese returning after a false alarm.

              The characters of this adventure were discovered the afternoon before, in equal number, but in smaller daytime flocks. With wind and clouds rolling in, the geese were restless. Watching them I had my introductory lesson on responses elicited from different raptors. Snow Geese, always in danger, seem to know what can and can’t take down one of their kind. Sometimes, though, a sneaky harrier has the ability to send flocks careening off, but they soon realize the mistake and come back. Red-tailed Hawks also enjoy this special talent. It was one of these flame-tailed bullies that had its fun with a flock. The raptor cruised over calm geese, then playfully dove on them sending birds scattering like a wave as it flew the whole flock through. Just some good, clean hawk fun!   

              It was this same flock that experienced drama from two more eagles the following morning. The first eagle, startled by my approach took off across a field where geese enjoyed the crisp dawn. It was on a mission to make it to some far away perch and the geese seemed to know they were in no current peril. The eagle however, was joined by a greedy foe that didn’t like its presence. A fight of the talons ensued over the flock, which scattered (in nearly the same direction). The geese went NUTS and the eagles paid them no mind as each tried to claim this prime territory. The fight continued amongst terrified geese and eventually disappeared over the horizon. This flock was smaller, but still nearly 8000 strong. The goose-fattened eagles couldn’t possibly have eaten them all, but like a diligent shepherd the second eagle had protected his flock. 

Bald Eagle...always watching.

              My thoughts quickly drifted back to flocking behavior and how the geese seemed to move in one body, even in the frenzy of mass takeoff. For a final few minutes I was lost in the blizzard again before snapping back to my own reality.

              It’s amazing to think Snow Goose populations were once so depleted that hunting them had to be ceased. In just about a hundred years, populations may be higher than they ever were, even wreaking havoc on their tundra breeding grounds. Despite the ecological issue they’ve made of themselves, I still count myself fortunate to enjoy a species that has rebounded all too well.

Blue morph Snow Geese coming in for landing.

For the crisp black-and-white snow goose:

"Winter is a study in half tones, 

and one must have an eye for them, or go lonely"

--Donald Culross Peattie, An Almanac for Moderns, 1935

For more of my recent photography, visit www.pbase.com/mpruitt/recents.