Bill Lishman obit

Canadian aviation pioneer Bill ‘Father Goose’ Lishman passes away

 He was not on the list.

The man affectionately known as Father Goose for his pioneering work on bird migration has died.

According to family and friends, Canadian Bill Lishman passed away on December 30 at the age of 78.

“His passing was peaceful, surrounded by family and friends. Thankfully he did not suffer long,” his son, Aaron Lishman, posted on Facebook. No cause of death was given.

“Most people that lived anywhere near him will remember him flying over with a flock of geese behind him. That was a common sight in the late eighties and early nineties,” Aaron Lishman told CityNews in a phone interview. “He’ll be remembered for a lot of different things but mostly for being an innovator and someone who wasn’t afraid to try new things.”

Lishman wore many hats during his colourful and adventurous life. He was an artist, filmmaker, naturalist and public speaker.

But it was his work with birds that caught the attention of the world, including Hollywood.

Lishman made headlines when he became the first person to use ultra-light aircraft to lead birds on migrations. He went on to co-found Operation Migration Inc., and flew several subsequent migrations with geese and cranes.

His autobiography “Father Goose” inspired the film “Fly Away Home” which starred Jeff Daniels and Anna Paquin. The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1996 for Best Cinematography.

Lishman was also a revered sculptor and filmmaker.

His death was mourned online by the likes of MP Erin O’Toole and author Margaret Atwood.

Lishman is survived by his wife, Paula, and three children.

Lying in bed one night in 1985, Bill Lishman told his wife Paula that he was going to teach birds to fly with him.

The dyslexic, colour-blind, wildly creative sculptor woke his three young kids up and told them the same thing. They laughed off their ever-enthused, larger-than-life father and went to bed.

But for the next three years they all worked with geese, which “imprint” on the first thing they see, considering that person or thing to be their parent and follow it. Lishman tried to get them to imprint on the sound of an engine and follow his motorcycle first, and then, his plane.

In 1988, Lishman took off in an ultra-light plane (picture a lawn-chair with wings) with a flock of 12 Canadian geese on either side of him. In a V-formation, together they flew — the geese had imprinted on the plane.

Five years later, he flew with 36 birds to South Carolina from Scugog township in Durham Region.

His flight was documented in the 1996 movie Fly Away Home starring Jeff Daniels and was based on Lishman’s autobiography, Father Goose.