UNITED FLIGHT 4390—Ornithology enthusiast Sam Harriman ‘27 got a real treat Thursday as his flight to Newark encountered a large flock of geese.
The gaggle crossed the airplane’s path shortly after takeoff from Ithaca Tompkins International Airport. Harriman, an active member of the Cornell Birding Club, eagerly grabbed his binoculars and peered out the window.
“Score! Looks like Branta canadensis to me,” Harriman said, turning to his neighbor as the plane’s turbine shredded several birds. “That’s a regular Canada Goose. It’s a little early for them to be migrating, though,” he added as the engine noise faded and the aircraft lurched to the right.
Looking back out the window, Harriman was disappointed that the flock had disappeared. “Hopefully we’ll run into them again, since we don’t seem to be flying very high up,” he said, getting into the brace position as flight attendants shouted instructions.
At press time, Harriman was spotted atop the airplane’s wing with his binoculars, hoping to verify a reported Northern Shoveler amongst the waterfowl displaced by the flight’s crash landing in Cayuga Lake.
