Flight of the Snow Geese | |
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Written by | Colin Willock |
Produced by | Aubrey Buxton |
Narrated by | Andrew Sachs |
Cinematography | |
Release date |
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Language | English |
Flight of the Snow Geese is a nature documentary from the Survival series.
A goose is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera Anser and Branta. Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily are commonly called geese, but are not considered "True Geese" taxonomically. More distantly related members of the family Anatidae are swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller.
The greylag goose or graylag goose is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus Anser. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and pink legs. A large bird, it measures between 74 and 91 centimetres in length, with an average weight of 3.3 kilograms. Its distribution is widespread, with birds from the north of its range in Europe and Asia often migrating southwards to spend the winter in warmer places, although many populations are resident, even in the north. It is the ancestor of most breeds of domestic goose, having been domesticated at least as early as 1360 BCE. The genus name and specific epithet are from anser, the Latin for "goose".
The greater white-fronted goose is a species of goose that is closely related to the smaller lesser white-fronted goose. The greater white-fronted goose is migratory, breeding in northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Russia, and winters farther south in North America, Europe and Asia. It is named for the patch of white feathers bordering the base of its bill: albifrons comes from the Latin albus "white" and frons "forehead". In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it has been known as the white-fronted goose; in North America it is known as the greater white-fronted goose, and this name is also increasingly adopted internationally. Even more distinctive are the salt-and-pepper markings on the breast of adult birds, which is why the goose is colloquially called the "specklebelly" in North America.
The pink-footed goose is a goose which breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, and recently Novaya Zemlya. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and western Denmark. The name is often abbreviated in colloquial usage to "pinkfoot". Anser is the Latin for "goose", and brachyrhynchus comes from the ancient Greek brachus "short" and rhunchos "bill".
The bar-headed goose is a goose that breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in South Asia, as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest. It is known for the extreme altitudes it reaches when migrating across the Himalayas.
The snow goose is a species of goose native to North America. Both white and dark morphs exist, the latter often known as blue goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The species was previously placed in the genus Chen, but is now typically included in the "gray goose" genus Anser.
The Canada goose, sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is occasionally found during migration across the Atlantic in northern Europe. It has been introduced to France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily herbivorous and normally migratory; often found on or close to fresh water, the Canada goose is also common in brackish marshes, estuaries, and lagoons.
Kansas City International Airport is a public airport in Kansas City, Missouri, located 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Downtown Kansas City in Platte County, Missouri. The airport was opened in 1972 and a new complex in the airport was completed in 2023, replacing the old one. MCI replaced Kansas City Municipal Airport (MKC) in 1972, with all scheduled passenger airline flights moved from MKC to MCI. It serves the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and is the primary passenger airport for much of western Missouri and eastern Kansas.
Michael James Aleck Snow was a Canadian artist who worked in a range of media including film, installation, sculpture, photography, and music. His best-known films are Wavelength (1967) and La Région Centrale (1971), with the former regarded as a milestone in avant-garde cinema.
Ross's goose, formerly Chen rossii, is a white goose with black wingtips and a relatively short neck. It is the smallest of the three white geese that breed in North America. It is similar in appearance to a white-phase snow goose, but about 40% smaller. Other differences from the snow goose are that the bill is smaller in proportion to its body and lacks "black lips". Like snow geese, Ross's geese may exhibit a darker "blue" phase or morph, though this is extremely rare.
The Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge is a 35,000-acre (142 km2) national wildlife refuge (NWR) located along the Tennessee River near Decatur, Alabama. Named after Major General Joseph Wheeler, it was established to provide a habitat for wintering and migrating birds in the Eastern United States.
Anser is a waterfowl genus that includes the grey geese and the white geese. It belongs to the true goose and swan subfamily of Anserinae under the family of Anatidae. The genus has a Holarctic distribution, with at least one species breeding in any open, wet habitats in the subarctic and cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in summer. Some also breed farther south, reaching into warm temperate regions. They mostly migrate south in winter, typically to regions in the temperate zone between the January 0 °C (32 °F) and 5 °C (41 °F) isotherms.
Snow v. Eaton Centre Ltd. is a leading Canadian decision on moral rights. The Ontario High Court of Justice affirmed the artist's right to integrity of their work. The operator of the Toronto Eaton Centre was found liable for violating Michael Snow's moral rights by putting Christmas bows on his work Flight Stop.
Waterfowl hunting is the practice of hunting aquatic birds such as ducks, geese and other waterfowls or shorebirds for food and sport.
Mermet Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area is an Illinois state park on 2,630 acres (1,060 ha) and 690 acres (280 ha) of water Massac County, Illinois, United States. It is an old cypress swamp that sports abundant fowl and fish. It also has hiking trails and a large archery competition called the Pro/Am National Archery Tournament, which is among the largest in the country. The land was acquired by the Government of Illinois in 1949.
The Regimiento Hibernia was one of the Spanish army's foreign regiments. Known by many in Spain as "O'Neill's Regiment", it was formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the penal laws and who became known as the Wild Geese - a name which has become synonymous in modern times for Irish mercenaries and soldiers throughout the world.
Garnet Bay is an arm of the Foxe Basin in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located on the northern coast of Foxe Peninsula, in western Baffin Island. The closest community is Cape Dorset, situated 137 km (85 mi) to the south, while Nuwata, a former settlement, is situated to the west.
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (HNWR), a haven for migratory birds and other wildlife, lies in northwestern Grayson County, Texas, on the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma, on the Red River between Oklahoma and Texas. This National Wildlife Refuge is made up of water, marsh, and upland habitat. Visitors can hike, observe wildlife, hunt, and fish throughout the year.
Colin Willock was a magazine editor and a nature documentary writer and producer, working on series such as ITV's Survival.
Flight Stop, also titled Flightstop, is a 1979 site-specific art work by Canadian artist Michael Snow. Located in the Toronto Eaton Centre in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the work hangs from the ceiling and appears to depict sixty Canada geese in flight. Each individual goose is made of Styrofoam covered in fibreglass and covered in a sheath made from photographs taken from a single goose. The flock is frozen in mid-flight, "flight stop" being a pun on the nature of still photography. When conceived in 1977, the work was titled Flight Stop but has frequently also been titled Flightstop. The work remains an iconic public art piece in Toronto and in many ways stands as a visual identity for the mall.