Wild Goose Dacha

No human dreams of relaxing on the shores of Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean that’s best known as a Soviet testing site for nuclear weapons. Yet, a growing flock of Pink-footed Geese have begun to make this militarized zone their summer home. Though this region was once too cold for the geese to raise young, climate change — and increased competition for food — may have made Novaya Zemlya a compelling alternative to their traditional territory in Svalbard. It’s also possible that the Pink-footed Geese found the archipelago by following other migratory waterfowl, which could prove to be a rare example of cultural knowledge being transmitted between species.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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