Ducks or Geese in Formation
I had a forty-five minute drive home the other day. It was late afternoon, and I was tired, dreading the drive home.
Suddenly the sun broke through the clouds in an afterthought, so I looked up to see a little blue sky. High overhead was a V-formation of ducks or geese, headed north. I watched them as long as I could. Two other formations came along, then. I slowed down so I could see them longer.
As the road turned, I could see a large group of them from the back, and I saw something new (to me!). Occasionally, a bird near the front of the formation would move a little sideways. All the rest of the birds in that line followed that one exactly, and so the whole line rippled, like a wave in water. It happened in several waves.
I was amazed at the sight of how closely they followed, how precisely each one imitated the one just ahead. It was a beautiful thing--a ripple of birds.
The picture is from this site: ifornature.blogspot.com/
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2 comments:
Hi Judy
I hope you had a great V. Day weekend
God bless you and have a wonderful week,
Ron
Do you know why ducks and geese fly in that formation? The air stream created by the first makes it much easier for the others. So, they make a chain. The further back in the chain, the easier it is. The air stream kind of keeps them evenly spaced, like a makeshift form of gravity. Then, after a while, the first one tires, and moves to the back of the line to be replaced by the next closest.
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