Walking home after shopping today we hear the most peculiar sound: something resembling a mixture of the war cry of invading space monkeys and the forelorn cooing of a giant pigeon. At first we are at a loss as to where it is coming from – there’s nothing visible at street level, no car, no other people, nothing – and then we look up. Above us, so small that they are only black dots against the blue-grey sky, are literally hundreds of geese. At least I think they are geese, they look rather big, too big to be ducks or terns, and there are too many of them to be any kind of bird of prey.

We can still hear their cries long after they are gone. And then, suddenly, the sound swells again and the next group comes flying over the rooftops. They are heading west… I wonder where they’re going.