Here you see a skein of Canada Geese resuming their flight south over Great Cove last week. They spent the morning resting near the now-vacant WoodenBoat School docking float:
Once the Cove is mostly devoid of its considerable summer and fall boating activity, it becomes a popular stopover on the Atlantic Flyway for birds headed south from Canada and for winter resident waterfowl. (LUCILLE, a smart-looking reconstituted lobster boat that is/was the last boat in the Cove, is scheduled to be taken out early today.)
Curiously, groups of Canada geese are called different things depending on where they congregate and the predilections of observers. When flying in a V-formation or in a knotted group, the geese usually are known as a “skein.” When in that characteristic V-formation, they also can be called a “wedge” or “team.” When collected as a feathered flotilla in the water, Canada geese are known (inexplicably) as a “plump,” and, when grouped on the ground, they’re a “gaggle.”
As global warming does its thing, more Canada geese are establishing year-long residences in some parts of Maine. However, I’m not aware of any of these brave souls overwintering in our part of Down East. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on October 24, 2025.)