This photo is of a flock of geese on Islay. My Auntie works for the SNH and her job is to get out and about to count geese which involves a lot of maths. More than just counting. Firstly, the reason for counting the geese on Islay is because they damage crops and land and the farmers and land owners are compensated because of this, based on the amount of geese and the pressure they are put under. So, many people are employed to count the geese. You have to count the geese in groups of ten and then estimate how many are in a flock — they use a clicker tool to keep track of the number based on the groups of ten or a hundred. The number of geese on the land determines how much money the land owner will get as a compensation grant. So, it requires careful estimation to make sure the geese are counted accurately. If the geese fly away then they have to start the count again… It takes a bit of time. You can’t get it wrong or by flook!
