Canada Geese Migrating Nov 5 2011
I was having my first cup of morning coffee on a cold, quiet Saturday morning and the light of day was beginning and I noticed a strange V shaped pattern in the distant sky over the lake. At first, I flashed back to the day when I recorded a B-2 Stealth bomber in Seattle because thats what it looked like. I knew what was approaching and I stepped outside and had a listen. They were geese flying in formation over the lake and heading directly toward the house. I stepped back inside to grab my recording gear and it was all in pieces after a recording session from the previous day. I knew I did not have enough time to get it up and running so I grabbed my iPhone and shot some video. They were not very high in altitude, I would guess a few hundred feet above the ground and squawking like crazy. I had missed a cahnce to record this sound and headed back inside before my fingers froze off.
Just in case there were more I did set up the MKH-8040ST and the SD-702 and set it next to the front door. Soon after, I heard another flock squawking in the distance over the river that connects to the lake. I set the gear up in the yard hoping some would head my direction and sure enough the took a left turn to head south. As they flew over I stood still next to the microphones and noticed along with the squawking was the very cool wing flap whooshes. I thought I was going to get a great clean take when the local squirrel decided to join in the music of nature. Below is the sound clip and the movie from the first fly over.
Enjoy! -Frank
Great recording. I grew up just a few miles from the Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary in Kingsville, Ontario. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Canada geese stopped by in the Jack Miner fields for a last feed of corn before heading out over Lake Erie on their southward flight.
This year I stopped at Jack Miners’ again, and there were very few geese. I’ve been told that human civilization is preventing freezeup on the lakes, food in urban areas is more plentiful, and so the geese aren’t migrating in the numbers they used to. Good that you got such a great recording .. sadly, the great migrations are not happening any more in the numbers they used to …