A fantastic sight! 
     
     BY ANN DUTTON 
     
    
   
   
    
     On April 1 and 2, we watched for two hours as skein after skein of 
     
     Canada Geese flew directly over us, and as far from the left and right 
     
     as we could see, all converging on one grassy field in Uigg. 
     
    

    
     It was a fantastic sight! 
     
    

    
     It began at dawn; no painting could exaggerate the colour and beauty 
     
     of the strings of geese against the reds and yellows of the sky as the 
     
     sun rose. No matter how far away they seemed, each string veered towards 
     
     this field and at some unknown signal, held their wings motionless as 
     
     they curved into the arc of their descent. They flew straight into the 
     
     rising sun. 
     
    

    
     The geese honked their primeval call as they came - and the lookouts 
     
     on the ground answered them — a warning, a greeting, or a presentation 
     
     and acceptance of credentials? 
     
    

    
     There were hundreds of them. 
     
    

    
     Interestingly, although this occurred every day for a week, (by which 
     
     time much of the ice on the Orwell estuary and other waterways had thawed 
     
     and the loosely-knit flocks had either dispersed throughout the Island 
     
     or continued their journey northwards) they never used the same field twice. 
     
    

    
     An instinct for preventing the spread of disease? 
     
    
   
   
    
     HAIKU: The Landing 
     
    
   
   
    
     wild geese from the sky 
     
     Slow their smooth and practised flight; 
     
     Stretch wings, then alight. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Copyright: Ann Dutton 45§K 
     
     April 27'  m 
     
    
   
   
    
     Natural history news 2 
     
    
   
   
    
     Sorry for the delay with this issue of the Island Naturalist. It's 
     
     been a busy two months. I hope you'll find it worth the wait. Thanks to 
     
     all those who took the time to contribute. 
     
    

    
     The April meeting of the Natural History Society was well attended, 
     
     including more than our usual share of children, which was nice to see. 
     
     David Cairns was the guest speaker and took us on a visual tour of the 
     
     Pribilof Islands in the Bering sea, full of spectacular scenery and inter— 
     
     esting history. The NHS awarded prizes at the 1989 Science Fair the the 
     
     following students: Shelley and Lorrie Jollimore for the Senior project 
     
     on demoic acid; Abby Rix and Melissa Costain took the Junior award for 
     
     their display on trees, shared with Rebecca and Benjamin Wright for 
     
     their display on a Merlin; Brian Stewart took the Intermediate award for 
     
     his project on sand dunes. Lorne Hughes and Michael Morrow received 
     
     honorable mention for their project that featured a snake. Ruth Richman, 
     
     Helen Ferguson and Gertrude Partridge were the judges for the NHS. 
     
    

    
     At the May meeting, George Wotton judged the annual slide competition 
     
     and it was a very entertaining and informative evening. Mr. Wotton's humour 
     
     and expertise held him in good stead as a judge. Rosemary Curley took 
     
     top prize, followed by Colin MacKinnon and Ken Mayhew. There was a lot of 
     
     discussion at the meeting about the Greater Black—backed Gulls taking away 
     
     the nesting habitat of the Common Terns on the old Hillsborough Bridge 
     
     piers. The executive will send a letter to the Canadian Wildlife Service 
     
     recommending that they pursue a non-destructive control system to keep 
     
     the gulls from nesting there. and to keep us informed of their progress. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
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