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

by Michael Quetting, Jane Billinghurst (Translator)

Overview

“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.”
—Sy Montgomery, author of Birdology and The Soul of An Octopus

The charming true story of one man’s journey to raise seven goslings in the name of science.

In Papa Goose, Michael Quetting shares the hilarious and moving true story of how he became a father to seven rambunctious goslings—and the surprising things he learned along the way. Starting right at the beginning, with the eggs, his journey takes him from the incubator all the way to the airstrip, where he must attempt to teach the geese to fly as part of an ambitious scientific research initiative for the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, which tracks animal migrations around the world. For the next eleven months, we follow the newly minted dad as he takes the goslings on daily swims in the lake, tracks them down when they go astray, and watches their personalities develop: feisty, churlish, and lovable. Packed with charm and humor, Papa Goose quickly draws us into the adventure as Gloria, Nemo, and the rest of the crew conquer land, water, and air.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771646185
Publisher:	Greystone Books
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 7.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael Quetting is a laboratory manager at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, a pilot, a bird lover, an author, and father to two human children.

Stacey O’Brien is the author of the New York Times bestseller Wesley the Owl. Trained as a biologist specializing in wild animal behavior, she now works as a wildlife rescuer and rehabilitation expert with a variety of local animals.

Table of Contents

Foreword Stacey O'Brien 1

1 Nine Eggs 5

2 Gloria 17

3 Seven Goslings 30

4 Our First Dip 43

5 Too Much Work! 53

6 The Monster in the Barn 67

7 Geese in the Van 79

8 Through the Eyes of Children 95

9 Geese and Ganders 106

10 Flying at Last 119

11 Greedy Guts 132

12 Freddy Veers Off Course 143

13 The Perils of Puberty 155

14 Time to Go 168

15 Flying in Circles 179

16 Farewells 193

17 The Passenger 198

18 Back to Civilization 210

19 The Birds Have Flown 219

Afterword 223

Acknowledgments 225

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"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." —Sy Montgomery, author of Birdology and The Soul of An Octopus

"Papa Goose is a wonderful book, full of astute observation and interesting ornithological facts." —The Australian

"Papa Goose is easy-to-read and incredibly moving."—Psychology Today

"Often hilarious and full of wonder." —Jefferson City News Tribune

"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

"Anyone who has loved will relate to this book as I did. I read it through the night, twice. If you liked Wesley the Owl, you will love this book, too." —Stacey O’Brien, author of Wesley the Owl

"This book resonates with me. It’s true to its title and a real page-turner. Full of life and love, it’s destined to capture the hearts of readers for generations to come." —Bernd Heinrich, author of One Wild Bird at a Time and The Naturalist's Notebook

"An inspiring and informative read for anyone wondering about birds and a scientific life. But be warned, your appetite for Christmas goose will fade with every page." —John Marzluff, author of Gifts of the Crow and Welcome to Subirdia

"If you wonder how close the connection between birds and people can possibly get, then this heart-warming and highly entertaining account is for you." —Bernd Brunner, author of Birdmania

"I so enjoyed this charming and sensitive story about a man who sets out to study the behavior and flight patterns of seven young geese and then realizes, to his great surprise, that his goose family is teaching him important lessons about why nature matters and what it means to be human." —John Aitchison, author of The Shark and the Albatross

"Often when one immerses one’s self into the lives of other species, we discover we have much in common. Michael Quetting’s adventures with geese is a sterling example.” —Dr. George Archibald, co-founder of the International Crane Foundation and author of My Life with Cranes