There’s something obviously normal relating to the chevron of Canada geese seen here, but there’s something unusual that cannot be sensed by just looking at the images.

As to normality, the geese are flying in a “V” (in this case “>”) formation. They do that during migration for two primary reasons. First, a “V” formation conserves energy, which is very much in demand by big birds on vigorous flights. Usually, each goose flies a bit above the bird in front of it, which reduces wind resistance. The birds take turns leading, which is where the wind resistance is the greatest. Second, flying in a “V” allows the birds to keep track of each other and communicate better, which is helpful defensively, as military pilots know.

What cannot be obvious to the viewer here is that these apparently migrating geese are not flying south; they’re flying in a northwesterly direction. This path could be another Climate Change anomaly. More likely, the geese were making an extremely large, wheeling turn and would soon head generally south. Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on December 3, 2024.)

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