How many geese?

It's time to take the King's shilling and head out to sea as this episode starts with naval tales as a walrus takes on a Russian navy boat, before Roddy grabs a calculator and does some truly bonkers marine mammal maths. Once the calculations are finished though, we take a look at how our activities at sea have impacted ecosystems in ways (perhaps, the naïve amongst us!) would never have thought... That's not all of course, as we then head not to the arena - but a deviously constructed battle box for the fight segment against a crab, and then round things off by assembling our stag do teams (bachelor parties for those overseas!) from the natural world. As we near our hundredth episode and series finale, there's also a bonus clip from the Patreon too. Head over now and use code GOOSE for an extra 30% off your first month. www.patreon.com/howmanygeese

Join us this week as we hide the machinery of knowledge behind the fleshy exterior of whimsy and delve into the world of robot animals. Armed with nothing but silliness, a can do attitude and ... a certain Australian's filmography, we take a look at examples of where creatures and cybernetics are colliding around the world. The arena expands this week to welcome Henry as Roddy joins forces to take on the Kakapo. Can this new formed duo take on the world's largest parrot? In the words of (none other than, and I can't believe she's making a reference before we close out) Helen Keller: "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much..." But that's not all of course, as we close the show out by answering that most 21st Century of questions - which animal, is the animal Kanye West? For more goose, migrate over to the Patreon flock for extra episodes of the show: www.patreon.com/howmanygeese

Here we go listener, we have lift off on HMG's final voyage as season 10 kicks off in style. In honour of our noble goose mission over the last 5 years of trying to make a nature podcast that you'd have fun listening to, Roddy is shining a light on fun in the animal kingdom. Do animals just have fun? And if so, which ones and why? Our fight segment got Roddy dressing up all fancy as he takes on a foe you might not necessarily associate with a fine dining experience - the Babirusa. And then finally, to wrap up proceedings for episode 94, we answer a question that I cannot believe, in all our nerdery, we've not tackled already - as we cast the Fellowship of the Ring as animals. Find us on Patreon over at patreon.com/howmanygeese for bonus episodes!

Marilyn Monroe, Brad Pitt, Pamela Anderson, Marlon Brando... the list of heart-throbs goes on and on, but we at HMG have only ever had eyes for one bird. In this very special episode we head down to Hampshire, to the Hawk Conservancy Trust, to come face to face with the object of our affections. Tom Morath is our wingman for this very special date as he brings us face to face with the sexiest animal on planet Earth. We're also introduced to other brilliant birds at the Hawk Conservancy Trust, and learn about the amazing work they do to protect some of the world's most critically endangered birds - as well as encouraging, inspiring & educating the public as to why we should all care about them too. For more on the Hawk Conservancy Trust, check out: www.hawk-conservancy.org To join the Goose afterparty, hop on over and join our Patreon club for exclusive episodes of the show: www.patreon.com/howmanygeese

In a masterpiece of editorial writing from Master Shaw, he rounds out the finale of season 9 with a deep dive into nature's finales - lost species and endlings. We're also setting foot into uncharted territory as we welcome the first Great Ape into the fight arena, as we make war (not love) with those promiscuous primates - the Bonobos. We finish our calibration with Green Feathers by looking at which bird has the whitest white feathers known to science before getting our James Cameron on and mulling over which animal we'd want to be turned into an Avatar of... Get your digital window to the natural world here with Green Feathers - https://www.green-feathers.co.uk Need more geese? Check out our Patreon! Come join the flock for extra episodes - https://www.patreon.com/howmanygeese

Something a little different for you today listeners, as we're delving into the uncomfortable truths surrounding bird feeding and whether it's the right thing to do... For more reading on the subject, you can download this excellent paper that talks about the potential ecological impacts of bird feeding here: www.researchgate.net/publication/353996228_Killing_with_kindness_Does_widespread_generalised_provisioning_of_wildlife_help_or_hinder_biodiversity_conservation_efforts This segment is from our Patreon show. Subscribe for £3 a month for bonus episodes here: www.patreon.com/howmanygeese

Ready the tea leaves and polish your crystal balls, we are discussing divination with doves and dodos as Jack takes us through the ancient practice of bird augury - beginning in the most unlikely of places, and with a snail... But that's not all of course as Roddy does battle with a hellish giant of the deep - the deep sea isopod - and the pair discuss which animals would make the best gang for a dream blunt rotation. That's not all of course as our sponsored segment with pals at Green Feathers sees the hosts chat through some of the biggest feathers in the bird world. Get your digital window to the natural world here with Green Feathers - https://www.green-feathers.co.uk Need more geese? Check out our Patreon! Come join the flock for extra episodes - https://www.patreon.com/howmanygeese

BOOM! Today's episode is blowing biology wide open as we take a look at exploding animals and why some species have evolved the most hardcore defensive behaviours on Planet Earth. Our journey into the world of feathers continues as we hop in the goose time machine to look back to their origins and see what the dinosaurs were dressed in. Then it's time for our fight segment where we welcome Patreon member Nellie nto the ring to help Roddy tackle the fluffiest combatant that's ever stepped into the arena - Chinchillas. And, after all that excitement, we blow off some steam at a party with the animals as we answer the question - which animal would be the best at fancy dress? Get your digital window to the natural world here with Green Feathers - https://www.green-feathers.co.uk Need more geese? Check out our Patreon! Come join the flock for extra episodes - https://www.patreon.com/howmanygeese

WE. ARE. BACK - and season nine (NINE!) is off to a flying start as Jack takes us through just what all those salmon hat wearing orcas were up to in the news - and used the topic to ask questions about culture in other creatures. If the fashion news of the century passed you by, then you can take a look at them strutting their salmon-y stuff here. Then, in our new sponsored segment - where we'll be featuring all things feathers this season - Roddy gets us started by taking a look at just what even is a feather, before going on to the classic goose juice and doing battle with one of nature's wonders - the weta. And it wouldn't be HMG if we didn't tackle a listener question - so we're off to Hogwarts to figure out just what our patronus would be... ... .. kind of Get your digital window to the natural world here with Green Feathers - https://www.green-feathers.co.uk Need more geese? Our Patreon is up and running - come join the flock for extra episodes and your chance to be on the show - https://www.patreon.com/howmanygeese

Join us before the year ends as we doff our caps and bend the knee in a chat with Peter Kaestner - ex American diplomat and man who has seen more bird species than anyone else in the world! Peter takes us through the world of bird watching at the elite level, and how his love for birds led him to a career that saw him serve his country and travel the globe in search of birds. With a life thoroughly well lived, his story to see his 10,000th bird species is nothing short of Hollywood ready! (This could also be the first podcast interview live interrupted by the appearance of a bird - and what more fitting guest for it to happen with!) A massive thanks to Peter for all his time, and to the team at Birdfair for brining us together in the first place. For more How many geese? head over to the Patreon at www.patreon.com/howmanygeese Cundinamarca antipitta (Grallaria kaestneri) recording courtesy of Ross Gallardy, XC354319. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/354319

I can guarantee to you listeners that the start of this week's episode is going to leave you completely baffled as to where it's going, as Roddy embarks on an exploration of what on earth dry cleaners are and the sorcery that goes along with their dark arts. But, stick with us, and we promise it eventually finds its way back to the nature vibe as we explore the world of cleaning behaviour in the animal kingdom. (see what he did there?) If that wasn't enough then there's also photography tales from the deep from a man who spent 24 hours underwater to take a picture of some mating fish whilst trying to avoid getting eaten by sharks, there's casting an animal Napoleon for which species would be the best at conquering Europe and we have one of our Patreon friends along for today's fight segment - as Roddy is joined by Ann to throwdown with the super serpent that is: the Anaconda. In need of camera gear? You can check out our show sponsors MPB here http://www.mpb.com/ To learn more about the work BOS UK do to save orangutans, and adopt your very own, head over to https://bos-uk.org/bumi-geese/ Need more geese? Our Patreon is up and running - come join the flock for extra episode and your chance to appear on the show! https://www.patreon.com/howmanygeese

Cast your minds back Goose fans and you may well remember an episode entitled "Hot bear summer", where our own Roddy Shaw went on a mission to prove that Antelope were animals worth our attention and shouldn't just be consigned to being eaten by a big cat on a David Attenborough show. The conclusion of his mission was that they were indeed incredibly dull, and so proclaimed them one of the most boring animals on the planet. Well, fast forward to today's episode and Jack has brought him to the Watatunga Wildlife Reserve to meet someone who will show him the error of his ways. We sit down with operations manager Molly Ruder who tells us all about one of the most fascinating zoos/safari parks/reserves/we-don't-really-know-what-it-is in the country... Massive thanks to Molly and the team at Watatunga, you can check them out here: www.watatunga.co.uk In need of camera gear? You can check out our show sponsors MPB here http://www.mpb.com/ To learn more about the work BOS UK do to save orangutans, and adopt your very own, head over to https://bos-uk.org/bumi-geese/ Need more geese? Our Patreon is up and running - come join the flock for extra episode and your chance to appear on the show! https://www.patreon.com/howmanygeese