How many geese?

Mission Mexico: Welcome to the Jungle

Come with us deep into the heart of the Mayan jungle as we embark on a once in a lifetime expedition into Mexico’s Calakmul Biosphere Reserve.

Joining the Operation Wallacea team, we head out with scientists and locals to get under the skin of Calakmul, learning about the scientific work being undertaken, the history of the forest and the threats it faces.

In this first episode, we’re getting to know where exactly we are and why it’s so special. Head scientist Dr Kathy Slater explains why Calakmul is so important and captivating before Jamie Hartup opens our eyes to some hardcore jungle trees. We also have a live animal gatecrash a recording session and come face to face with the most bizarre animal either of us have ever seen… in a just as unlikely place.

So make sure you’ve packed plenty of water and follow us into the forest as we encounter some of the most extraordinary animals (and people) and planet Earth…

 

For more information on Operation Wallacea then check out www.opwall.com

To support the show by leaving us a donation to help keep growing the podcast, please visit www.buymeacoffee.com/howmanygeese 

Follow our Instagram page for updates here www.instagram.com/howmanygeese/ 

Geese on Tour: Squirted as we speak

Ahoy sailors! All aboard the good ship HMS Goose as your favourite nature podcast sails into uncharted waters for a meeting with the creatures of the deep. We've travelled down to the Royal Navy's central command base at Whale Island to meet marine biologist Harriet, whose job it is to tell us all about the ocean's weird world beneath the waves....

 

To learn more about our partners Birda and download their free birdwatching app, visit their website at https://birda.app/how-many-geese

To support the show by leaving us a donation to help keep growing the podcast, please visit www.buymeacoffee.com/howmanygeese 

Follow our Instagram page for updates here https://www.instagram.com/howmanygeese/ 

Adrenaline up to 11

Greetings ant fans! Today's episode is acting as a super colony of ant facts with Roddy as its queen as we dive into a group of animals we've been in awe of on the show for quite some time. Strap in as we learn about the most sophisticated and fearsome civilizations on planet earth and why ants are the ones running the world. Our pals Birda also introduce us to the Ruddy Woodcreeper of Central America and Roddy needs your help in doing battle with one of the cutest animals alive - the Red Panda. 

To learn more about our partners Birda and download their free birdwatching app, visit their website at https://birda.app/how-many-geese

To support the show by leaving us a donation to help keep growing the podcast, please visit www.buymeacoffee.com/howmanygeese 

Follow our Instagram page for updates here https://www.instagram.com/howmanygeese/ 

File that under: ”it worked”

We've done Australia at war with the emu, we've done artists in love with wombats, but strap in for one of the maddest mash ups of humans and animals from history as we look at how THE ACTUAL US GOVERNMENT had a plan to weaponise bats in WW2... move over Oppenheimer, we're talking bat bombs!

Then join us as we say hello again to Hollywood in our Birda segment - looking at the Red Tailed Hawk which you may not have seen, but we almost guarantee you'll have heard. Meanwhile, we have a matrimonial special for the fight segment as we bend the rules to accommodate a suggestion delivered to us IN PERSON at a wedding (invite us to your wedding and we can talk special features...) before lastly diving into bed with literature as we give a suitable goose spin to Kafka's Metamorphosis.

To learn more about our partners Birda and download their free birdwatching app, visit their website at https://birda.app/how-many-geese

To support the show by leaving us a donation to help keep growing the podcast, please visit www.buymeacoffee.com/howmanygeese 

Follow our Instagram page for updates here https://www.instagram.com/howmanygeese/ 

They’re on the juice

After some spectacular summer specials with guests, we're back with just Roddy and Jack on the mics for an episode that returns to the purest of goose roots and looks at a weird animal you've (probably) never heard of before - Australia's own antechinus (..... .... antechini?). 

Then, get comfy with going across the pond as all things goose begin to point towards Mexico - Birda takes us across the Atlantic to look at the Rufous Hummingbird, and Roddy does battle with the Horseshoe crabs of Delaware bay (though, perhaps unsurprisingly,  NOT on their home turf...)

Lastly, where would we be without your questions as we answer what animal would make the best doctor? (The NHS may be in crisis, but don't look to this answer for help...)

To learn more about our partners Birda and download their free birdwatching app, visit their website at https://birda.app/how-many-geese

To support the show by leaving us a donation to help keep growing the podcast, please visit www.buymeacoffee.com/howmanygeese 

Follow our Instagram page for updates here https://www.instagram.com/howmanygeese/ 

 

The Goose Philharmonic

Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats in the auditorium as tonight's performance from the Goose Philharmonic is set to begin!

Join us in welcoming composer Kain Ravaei to our first transatlantic episode (via the power of internet) as he takes us through both his work and the wider world of wonderful orchestra. Looking at how classical music can help conservation awareness, Kian's new piece "California Suite" addresses the unique qualities of a particular birdsong, from the flowing tune of Least Bell’s Vireo to the rapid chirps of the California Black Rail. The pieces are modelled after the musical tradition of Baroque dance suites, such as those by J.S. Bach — but with a modern, conservation-minded twist.

.....but we also use the opportunity of having a bona fide classical composer on the mics to answer some of the more musical questions we've been sent in the past, all of course with a goose spin, including recasting an entire orchestra with mother nature's maestros. 

Plus - we ensure our time across the pond is all encompassing by taking a look at a real bird brainbox for Birda, the California Scrub Jay. To download the free app, head to https://birda.app/how-many-geese 

You can check out Kian's music at his website https://kianravaei.com and listen to the California Suite in full on his Youtube page 

To support the show by leaving us a donation, please visit www.buymeacoffee.com/howmanygeese 

 

Geese on Tour: The Frogolologist

It's time for our now apparently annual tradition of bringing you a How Many Geese? Slimbridge Summer Special! 

A whole year to the day that that made our first visit to the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust's flagship reserve in Gloucestershire - we returned with our attentions set firmly on the amphibious. Join us as Kay Baxter, Living Collections Supervisor for the ectotherms, takes us on a behind the scenes tour of Slimbridge's assortment of frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and everything else in between. 

Plus - we delve into the simultaneously rarest AND cutest bird we've ever tackled with our pals Birda, as the Spoon-billed Sandpiper is our Birda of the week. 

 

To learn more about our partners Birda and download their free birdwatching app, visit their website at https://birda.app/how-many-geese

 

For more on the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, check them out here: https://www.wwt.org.uk/

 

To support the show by leaving us a donation to help keep growing the podcast, please visit: www.buymeacoffee.com/howmanygeese

 

Order of the Goose

On this, the anniversary of the first scientific paper documenting the theory of evolution being presented to the world, we talk about the man that made it all happen. And no, not that one.

Today's episode is dedicated to shining a light on one of biology's most overlooked figures as we celebrate the life and times of Alfred Russell Wallace - who came up with the theory of evolution by natural selection completely independently of Charles Darwin.

Then, we buckle up for our first trip to the thunderdome with our pals Birda before Roddy gets into a battle with one of the most obscure animals on the planet - the Solenodon. 

And finally, we answer the question on everyone's lips. Where in the world have we gone? And what, exactly, are we doing here...? 

 

To learn more about our partners Birda and download their free birdwatching app, visit their website at https://birda.app/how-many-geese

 

To support the show by leaving us a donation to help keep growing the podcast, please visit: www.buymeacoffee.com/howmanygeese

 

The Lazarus Pug

Today's episode is going all Mythbusters as we take on some of the most outrageous animal facts to grace the internet. Our Birda buddies are talking about Jack's worst bird in the world (the Cormorant) before Roddy does battle with the King of the Avian World; the Harpy Eagle. And finally, we round up the show with your classic "What would a goose do if it had a time machine?" chat. 

 

To learn more about our partners Birda and download their free birdwatching app, visit their website at https://birda.app/how-many-geese

 

To support the show by leaving us a donation to help keep growing the podcast, please visit: www.buymeacoffee.com/howmanygeese

The Impossible Question

Today's episode is taking on a question that some of the finest minds across human civilisation have put their minds to - what the hell is going on with eels?! Plus; it's hammer time with Birda as we go south of the equator to meet the Hamerkop, debate what animal legs would make the best replacement for our own.. whilst it all gets a little meta in Roddy's fight with the Sarcastic Fringehead.

To learn more about our partners Birda and download their free birdwatching app, visit their website at https://birda.app/how-many-geese

 

To support the show by leaving us a donation to help keep growing the podcast, please visit: www.buymeacoffee.com/howmanygeese