I love the sound of geese flying overhead. I look out for them every autumn and spring, and love seeing their beautiful formations and hearing their honking – which I always assumed was them sharing titbits of gossip and chat to pass the time on a long journey.

If I’m honest I never gave the migration habits of geese much more thought than this, until I happened to be sitting in the garden with a family member, who is a teacher, when a flock of geese passed overhead. She remarked that she had given a lesson about geese to her class, and asked if I knew why they fly and honk as they do.

It turns out that the v shape flying formation, like so much else in nature, is a lot more clever than it seems. The front bird breaks up the air and makes flying much easier for the two behind it, and so on through the group. Usually the bird in front is one of the more experienced fliers, and when it gets tired it swaps with another member of the group. According to the RSPB, birds flying in a v formation can travel 70 per cent further than one bird flying alone.

The honking also has a purpose: to help geese stay together in the group. White markings on many breeds also help with this. If one goose is sick or injured, it will not be left to fend for itself. A few others from the group will break off with it, and stay with it until it recovers, when they join another flock.

The relative who told me this uses the example of geese to teach the principles of teamwork to her class. It’s a nice illustration, and it reminded me how rewarding it is to be part of a team. In my case this is usually to work on research projects, and it’s always brilliant to see the different perspectives and ideas that come through teamwork, as well as the feeling of being supported by colleagues.

Not everyone can rely on good teams at work, either because of difficult environments or more independent jobs. But there are plenty of opportunities to find a team elsewhere, whether through sport, volunteering or another hobby, and this can often bring great rewards.