A nod is as good as a wink-wink

Late-season days at the geese can hang on the toss of a coin. Despite hours of patient reconnaissance and observation, patterns in goose behaviour are difficult to fathom. They can hammer sugar beet for weeks, then on the very morning you intend to flight them in at dawn, they vanish without warning.

Cold weather might drive them down to lusher pastures where it is easy to spring an ambush, but if it’s too cold the birds might vanish altogether. Mild weather opens up a similar range of options, but nothing that you can ever be certain of.

I’m lucky to live in an area where pink-footed geese spend of goose music on the breeze. But being around geese rarely provides any guarantee that your game bag will be full.