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The Meaning of Geese

A Thousand Miles in Search of Home

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The Meaning of Geese

By: Nick Acheson
Narrated by: Nick Acheson
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About this listen

Renowned naturalist and conservationist Nick Acheson spent countless hours observing and researching wild geese, transported through all weathers by his mother's forty-year-old trusty red bicycle. He meticulously details the geese's arrival, observing what they mean to his beloved Norfolk and the role they play in local people's lives—and what role the birds could play in our changing world.

During a time when many people faced the prospect of little work or human contact, Nick followed the pinkfeet and brent geese that filled the Norfolk skies and landscape as they flew in from Iceland and Siberia. In their flocks, Nick encountered rarer geese, including Russian white-fronts, barnacle geese, and an extremely unusual grey-bellied brant, a bird he had dreamt of seeing since thumbing his mother's copy of Peter Scott's field guide as a child.

To honor the geese's great athletic migrations, Nick kept a diary of his sightings as well as the stories he discovered through the community of people, past and present, who loved them too. Over seven months, Nick cycles over 1,200 miles—the exact length of the pinkfeet's migration to Iceland.

©2023 Nick Acheson (P)2023 Chelsea Green Animals Biological Sciences Environment Outdoors & Nature Science Conservation Russia
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Raw and honest. Nick's voice, with his unhurried pace and perfect diction, is entirely right for his words. In typical style he blends compendious scientific knowedge with anecdotal descriptions making things memorable and accessible at all levels. This is why he is such a great educator and advocate for wildlife.
I wept, I laughed, but mostly I was transported to our beloved coast and it's winged visitors. I shall listen time and again.

A love letter to nature.

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The narrative moved along at the right pace, never dwindling too long on a single account. I particularly liked the way the author interjected global stories of migration and conservation. It soon became clear that not only pink foots but people are central to this story and how many people with differing vested interests can come together.

A personal and passionate account of Norfolk birding with worldwide and historic stories.

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