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AR a J ND AO hm a. €@ HT - 'With a wing span in excess of four feet, fly with effortless ease alongside his boat, up to 60 mph. The geese were the star performers in a film shot Flight of fancy for Canadian Geese by John B. McClelland There is something a little unsettling about sitting in a power boat zipping around Lake Scugog watching seven Canada Geese fly in perfect formation no more than a wing span away. But that's where I found myself last Fri- day on a bitterly cold November afternoon, the guest of Jerry Kirk- by who has successfully trained a small flock of Canada Geese to fly at low altitudes wherever he goes in his speed boat on Lake Scugog. The Canada Goose, of : p fue § i baer ¥. x 3 & J » 7 ir: 2 Mel vit t Wl . x / i NM , AP BENE a [ ng 1 AA Tori Jerry Kirkby of Pleasant Points with one of his trained geese. zipping around Lake Sc PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. Movember §, 1984 -- 21 { Jerry Kirkby"s trained Canada geese September, and Jerry says that next year, ugog at speeds swans. (See story) in August and Area man trains birds as 'stars' for a movie course, is 4 majestic symbol of this country with its white, gray and black markings. Most people have seen them from afar, winging their way in V formations high overhead in the spring and fall. But to see one in full flight almost within arm's length; the huge wings moving grace- fully with little effort; the sleek head, neck and body slicing through the air at 50 MPH is an experience not quickly forgotten. The 15 geese trained by Mr. Kirkby are the star performers in a 20 Y » ] Ly A minute film shot in August and' September on Lake Scugog by a Toronto company. The 70 mm film was pro- duced for a Japanese distillery and will be first shown at the World's Fair next year in Tokyo. Mr. Kirkby's unique contribution in training the birds to fly alongside the boat so they could be filmed actually goes back several years. He read that a film was being made about birds in flight and contacted the producers with the idea of training geese. They said OK, Jerry train the geese, but the film never got off the ground for financial reasons. Then last spring, Jerry was contacted by the producers of the Japanese film to see if he would train for another film. He agreed, knowing it could be done since his first experiment several years ago was success- ful. The geese were hatch- ed in captivity in May and Jerry brought them to his home at Pleasant Point on the north end of Lake Scugog about a month later. A Bond Although he referred to his training techni- ques as a "trade secret,"' Jerry told the Star in an interview Friday that the first step was to develop a bond between himself and the birds. He taught them to recognize his voice, took them for little walks and often just sat in the pen talking to them. Soon he had them swimming behind a row boat, and after the birds began to fly at about 12 weeks, he got them to follow in a small motor-boat. The problem at this point was that the geese simply began to out-fly the small boat. So the film company supplied Jerry with a sleek high powered inboard, and by the time filming began August 19, the birds were following him all over Lake Scugog, flying non-stop as much as 17 miles at a time at speeds greater than 50 MPH. Filming continued for several weeks in Agust and September and needless to say the film crew was more than delighted with the foot- age. Jerry has seen some of the film and even he is impressed. To his knowledge, Canada Geese in full flight have never before been cap- tured on film at such close distances. The camera was mounted on a scaffold in the middle of the boat and filming took place mostly in early morning and evening. He estimates he spent 150 hours training the birds and says "it was just like having 16 pet dogs." They developed personalities, but once trained were oblivious to voices other than Jerry's and had no interest in other birds on Lake Scugog. Come On, Geese Jerry kept the birds in a pen behind his home and for training sessions he would walk them the short distance to the lake. But sometimes they would decide to fly to the lake and take off in a wide circle to land on the water near the boat. With whistles and shouts of "Come on, geese. Come on, geese," Jerry would gun the motor and the birds would take off behind the boat moving into a formation on one side or the other, no more than a few feet from the surface of the lake. Needless to say the sight of a power boat with as many as 15 geese winging their way alongside attracted a fair amount of attention from other boaters who expressed amazement. "How did you get them to do that?" Jerry heard that question many times as he work- ed with the geese on the lake. His Pleasant Point neighbours got a kick out of the birds this summer and several took an active interest. in their training pro- gress. : Now that filming is over, the geese will be kept at a farm north of Toronto and Jerry says he is going to miss them once they're gone. But he may bring a few back this winter to see if they'll fly along beside his snowmobile. Jerry, 38, has lived at Pleasant Point for the past nine years, and other than the geese has never been involved in training or raising animals. He is the assistant Regional - manager for Trillium Cable TV in Orillia. Jerry will be compen- sated for his work in training the geese for the film (he declined to - he may start working with Trumpeter say how much) and he will have his name on the credits. Canadians may get a chance to see the film in the next couple of years as it could be shown at the World's Fair in Vancouver, and at Ont- ario Place Cinesphere. And next summer, Jerry says he may try a similar project using Trumpeter swans. If geese can be trained, there is no reason why swans cannot, he said with a shrug. So, if you're out on Lake Scugog and a guy in a speed boat goes whizzing by with some geese or swans flying right alongside, relax, you're eyes are not playing tricks on you. @ LF veel br | SCUGOG YOUTH SOCCER CLUB GENERAL MEETING Thurs., Nov. 8th - 8 P.M. Sharp SCUGOG COUNCIL CHAMBERS Perry Street, Port Perry Were you, as a parent, pleased with your child's last season. Please attend to let us know. COACHES PLEASE RETURN PRACTICE BALLS AXE HOCKEY SCUGOG ARENA - PORT PERRY ~ » 1 ' {J ' J ' { J J ' J J U J {J J 1 ' 1) ' {J ' J ' {J J | ' ! ' | U J ' {J U fs 1 SUN., NOVEMBER 11 Port Perry MoJacks VS. Cobourg Cougars ADMISSION: and Children 50° - WW WwW - Adults $2.00; Students $1.50 GAME TIME: 7:30 P.M. PE = mem amma... J J 1 J