Papa Goose: One Year, Seven Goslings, and the Flight of My Life

By Michael Quetting

Michael Quetting is exhausted and covered in goose shit.

One moment a gosling is sleeping soundly under his sweater and the next, there’s one tugging at his shoelaces.

Being father to a gaggle of goslings that won’t let you out of their sight is a full-time job. As a laboratory director at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Quetting must transform the motley gang into a disciplined flight crew so researchers can gather data about weather and flight patterns.

Detaching from civilization and immersing himself in the training, Quetting leads his young on daily swims, retrieves them when they go astray, and watches as their personalities develop—feisty, churlish, loveable—while solving problems such as how to roll down the runway without running the geese over before they even get airborne.

This charming book traces Quetting’s heart-warming and highly entertaining adventure as goslings Gloria, Nemo, and the rest of the crew conquer land, water, and air. By the time the journey is over, Quetting has learned from his charges more than he ever expected about nature and what it means to be human.

‘Papa Goose is destined to become a classic. This book has everything in it I love: great animals beautifully portrayed as individuals; cool science; drama, discovery, and personal transformation. You will love it!’—Sy Montgomery, author of Birdology and The Soul of An Octopus

‘Papa Goose is a charming, expertly crafted blend of Quetting’s research into geese and love for them as his animal family. The adopted scientist father of this gaggle is an expert in bird biology — but he also knows there is much more to life than what scientific instruments can tell us.’—Jim Robbins, author of The Man Who Planted Trees and The Wonder of Birds

‘Papa Goose is a wonderful book, full of astute observation and interesting ornithological facts.’––Tim Flannery, The Australian

• Language: English
• Publisher: Black Inc. Books
• Release date: Sep 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781743820315

Michael Quetting

Michael Quetting is a laboratory director and ultralight pilot at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, which gave him a unique opportunity to combine his love of flying with his love of birds. Quetting has two human children and lives close to Lake Constance, Germany.

Reviews for Papa Goose

[finchamfamily · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Papa Goose by Michael Quetting is a book about the human condition made visible through the lens of nature and the raising of seven geese. This book is full of its ups and downs as the lives of the geese family changes, including Michael. Who knew the daily lives of a geese family could be so varied and interesting. It is rare to find a book that touches on human psychology and ornithology as well as Papa Goose does, and what an amazing combination it is. This is a very easy read and should be read by as many as possible as the messages in this book would do the world a lot of good. While some of the messages do come off as blatant and the discussions and musings of the geese, as told from Michael’s brain not actual talking, can be silly and overly anthropomorphic this book is still worth a read. All and all Papa Goose is an excellent book and would be perfect for just about anyone, especially young adults who could benefit from seeing things from a different perspective.

[sparemethecensor · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Endearing autobiographical story of an ornithologist raising seven goslings as part of a flight data collection experiment. This is a quick and easy read that is also heartwarming and highly educational about geese -- I never knew so much about the geese at my local park.

[yukon92 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received a free copy of this book from the LTER give-away in exchange for my honest opinion. This book is an absolute delight to read - I must say that I was already aware of the whole story, because I had seen the documentary about the whole concept on German TV a few years ago. The dedication it took the author (with help from his coworkers) was amazing. Obviously there can only be a partial happy-end with a story involving wild animals, but it is still a great way to learn more about the life and "thinking" of geese!

[aya8herron · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As a researcher for the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany, author Michael Quetting had the opportunity to be involved in an amazing experiment. His mission: to raise geese from hatchlings, teach them to fly, and gather flight data. For eleven months, Quetting took his charges for daily swims and made sure they were well taken care of. Along the way, he learned that each had its own personality from feisty to cuddly. Just like raising human children, the author discovered there were ups and downs to parenting seven little ones. Check out this book and join the adventure of a lifetime. The Bottom Line: The dedication the author had to see this experiment through was amazing. Filled with humor and packed with information, this is a very quick read that will interest nature lovers and students of biology.

[whitreidtan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When I worked at a lake as a lifeguard, one of our duties was to clean up the beach before opening and by far the most common thing we came across to clean up was goose poop. If a flock of geese had been on the beach that morning, the beach was a disgusting slick of green and white goose pellets. We face the same problem in the summer in the yard at the cottage. Goose dung everywhere. Besides the prolific pooping, I've honestly never thought very much about geese and I certainly never considered them as individual creatures with unique personalities or as important subjects in any sort of scientific experiment. If anything, I considered them an annoyance at best and a scourge at worst. But for a year, Michael Quetting, a scientist at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, considered them his family as he raised seven geese from egg to adulthood, a task chronicled in the memoir Papa Goose.In an effort to find out information about bird (goose) flight mechanics and aerodynamics and real time atmospheric conditions, Michael Quetting fathered seven greylag geese from before their birth, when he talked to them in their incubator to get them used to his voice, to almost a year old. The geese were raised so that they could eventually be fitted with data loggers to provide scientists with this information. Quetting was careful to have the small balls of down imprint on him, becoming their acknowledged parent. He describes all aspects of their lives together from their vulnerable youngest days, their development of individual personalities, their learning to fly, and finally to the days that each of them finally leaves his care for the wider world. The story is one of joy, contemplation, and frustration. Quetting documents the daily life of the goslings, sharing the soft, sleepy whistles they make when tired, the snoozing with their papa goose, the happy swimming, their contented dandelion eating, and more. Being with the birds causes him to slow down in his own life and to look at what is important. Of course the experiment, the reason he is raising these seven little creatures is always in the background, at the very least, but even in raising them towards a goal, he finds immense happiness, like the day all seven geese fly with him for the first time, following him in his ultralight. Quetting doesn't shy away from the difficulties he encounters, from a recalcitrant gander to the constant loads of goose poo but through it all, his heart shines through. He does anthropomorphize the geese occasionally, imagining what they think of him, the horn he uses to call them, and the things he asks of them. The story is quite sweet and simple in the telling and will likely appeal to animal lovers of all kinds.

[hamlet61-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

When I began reading this book, I was expecting an experience similar to the one I had when I read Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk: profound and moving. Alas, that was not the case with Papa Goose. The bond between Michael Quetting and his birds read more like mutual imprinting than true connection. Add to that the fact that I have ethical issues with purposely imprinting animals on humans for our own scientific use. The book is well-written but did not speak to me

[aligarf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very sweet book. I enjoyed the authors description of life with 7 goslings he raised from eggs to their release into the wild. I would have liked more bio on the man himself, what made him attempt this project, other than his knowledge of how to fly a plane... I was not surprised, but enchanted by the personalities exhibited by his 'flock'. Having pet birds in the past, I know how unique they each are, to the surprise of my non bird owning friends. The book was fun, and a nice escape from the world.

[9cee9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love books about animals raised by sensitive individuals who observe behaviors of other species - particularly birds. While Quetting only "parents" seven goslings for about a year, it's an immersive and amazing adventure. Heartwarming prose and fascinating stories make his shared experiences a delightful read.

[taphophile13 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Quetting works at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and is taking part in a project to gather meteorological data and learn more about flight dynamics by attaching data loggers to the backs of greylag geese. The project begins with nine goose eggs in an incubator which Quetting tends, turning the eggs and checking temperature and humidity levels. He also reads aloud to the to the yet to be hatched goslings in hopes that they will imprint on his voice. As seven of the eggs hatch, Quetting names each bird, only some months later learning that he has misgendered several of them. The goslings see him as their parent and follow him in single file over the next few months as he takes them on outings to meadows and ponds. Fortunately geese are pre-programmed with most of the information they will need although Quetting worries about protecting them from predators. It soon becomes obvious that while the birds look identical they have very different personalities. They quickly form alliances among themselves and one of them is a bit of a rebel who doesn’t want to abide by papa’s rules. When the goslings are ready to fly Quetting leads them into the air with his ultralight. The project is a success as the birds make over sixty flights wearing the data loggers.Papa Goose is a quick pleasant read. There are no deep insights although Quetting seems to become more relaxed and perhaps a better father to his human children after his experience as a Father Goose. Black and white photographs of the geese at various ages are included and the last short chapter provides information about some of the birds’ current whereabouts.

[drsyko_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Michael Quetting is a scientist working at the Max Planck Institute Win Germany. He wants to study various aspects of how geese fly and how various factors affect their flight. So, what better way to do that than to raise a bunch of goslings from birth and then fly with them? This book is the story of how Quetting raised the geese as their "Papa Goose" and all of the joys and frustrations that ensued from such an endeavor. This is an endearing, as well as fascinating, tale of human and animal interaction and how deeply this interaction can affect both. While at times the writing lacks detail and some of the descriptions are a bit bland, overall I was engrossed by this book and was moved by what happened to both the writer and the geese. I recommend this book for both older children and adults.

[pondelro · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is a sweet and well-written book about a man given the task of raising seven geese to adulthood. We learn about the geese and all of their individual personalities and that is fascinating. However, what stood out the most was the author's realization that the connection between all creatures (including humans) is something we have lost, but is essential to a good life. Highly recommended.

[ashmolean1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I loved Wesley The Owl (author of the book and introduction)and hoped I would love this. I guess I am more interested in owls than geese. This was a nice story but I didn't feel the author's connection to the goslings enough to give this 4 stars. However, it will appeal to people who like books about animals and pets.