Nearly midnight and there are geese flying overhead

[Toddy]

I've just been out for a wander with the cat. It's a beautiful crisp, cold, clear night here. -4degC
It's nearly midnight but there are flights of geese flying NW overhead.
Do many birds fly at night ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[wicca]

When I read your post Toddy I looked at the thermometer out on deck, 7 Cel: The year has turned most definitely. although I'm sure at home it may not feel like it just yet. Geese under the moon, fabulous! Were they silent or calling? Maybe the start of the long journey to their summer breeding grounds. I've had them fly over at night when I've been far out to sea, part of their navigation system uses the moon I believe. I've had other birds fluttering like great moths around the masthead light at night too, although I think most only fly at night when on passage of migration, apart from the normal nocturnal hunters of course.

Here every day gets a little warmer and the great white storks clack their bills and do strange courtship dances in the sunshine high up on their big 'twiggy' nests.

While you folks at home have had the snows, here it has rained heavily for long periods, still at least it's warm rain..The benefit is now the sun warms the ground and everywhere is coming to life, some of the wild flowers I have trouble identifying and it's weird seeing things like Trefoil and Bugloss flowering in February. But it's good to feel Mother Earth waking up. Regards to all Wicca.

 

[mikeob]

An awful lot of migration occurs at night Toddy. It may be a defense against predators or the cooler temps prevent small bodies from overheating, or it may be that the earths magnetic field is less "cluttered" at night.
Or it may be something else entirely.

 

[myotis]

Geese often fly at night, especially on clear moonlit nights where they can keep feeding longer before returning to their loch to roost.

When the weather is cold/hard frosts, the geese may need to travel further to find a food resource or indeed if the ground/crops are frozen may need to spend longer gathering food than normal. Both can result in them getting "caught out" and returning to the roost after darkness.

Before being exiled to England and living on the side of Loch Leven geese flying over the house at night was a reasonably common occurrence.

Radar traces also show regular night time goose/duck movements to and from northern Europe as the birds respond to changes in winter weather.

Graham

 

[Grooveski]

I know it has nothing to do with geese or flying at night but...
Was coming back up from Cumbria on sunday and had to stop at Gretna to watch the starlings come in to roost. One of the locals out watching the show said they come from all over northern europe and stay around Gretna over the winter.

I've seen some nice displays elsewhere but this was gobsmacking. The sky was dark with them.

 

[robin wood]

An awful lot of migration occurs at night Toddy. It may be a defense against predators or the cooler temps prevent small bodies from overheating, or it may be that the earths magnetic field is less "cluttered" at night.
Or it may be something else entirely.

Interesting post, I have never stopped to think why fly at night. I particularly think of redwings and fieldfares arriving by night. We get great flocks overhead and the calls are very distinctive.

Like the avatar mikeob, big fan of NWC art.

 

[robin wood]

I know it has nothing to do with geese or flying at night but...
Was coming back up from Cumbria on sunday and had to stop at Gretna to watch the starlings come in to roost. One of the locals out watching the show said they come from all over northern europe and stay around Gretna over the winter.

I've seen some nice displays elsewhere but this was gobsmacking. The sky was dark with them.

I have seen small starling swarms come to roost but to see a really big one must be stunning. There are some great youtubes if you search starling roost http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=starlings+roost&search_type=&aq=f

 

[tobes01]

Just once in a blue moon it could be another (sadder) reason - now that Canada Geese are covered by a general licence, golf courses in particular have started shooting them. I've been out once to do so, and didn't like it at all - it's essentially execution whilst they're at roost. You nail a couple, then the rest take flight. Can't be done during the day because the golfists are out there.

Problem is, there's little more that can be done if golfists are considered more important than geese...

 

[lannyman8]

geese have great vision and have aslo got great night vision.....

ive read that they will see you a very long way of at night dusk or dawn in some shooting mags and books.......

hence the being crumpled up in a water filled ditch at 3am on the mud flats lol......

its a truly great view and sound.......(envy)......chris

 

[mikeob]

Interesting post, I have never stopped to think why fly at night. I particularly think of redwings and fieldfares arriving by night. We get great flocks overhead and the calls are very distinctive.

Like the avatar mikeob, big fan of NWC art.

Navigation and migration in the animal kingdom is an incredible thing isn't it.
The salmon that sits on my right shoulder is a reminder of that.

 

[peaks]

Hi
As stated before quite a lot of migration happens at night.
Some birds are adapting to hunt at night - see the link below and go to the second entry.

http://derbyperegrines.blogspot.com/


Fascinating stuff!

 

[locum76]

I heard some geese overhead at about 11pm last Sunday when I was leaving my mates house on my bike.

I saw a Tawny Owl tonight as well. That was a rare treat.