
Alternatives to Killing Geese
(and other living things)
Barry Kent MacKay | Director
Killing is often presented as the only effective method of dealing with whatever concerns, real or imagined, people have about geese. These birds are highly visible, and if you know nothing else about them, no doubt you can identify their signature “honk”. Ever since Animal Alliance of Canada began, we have fought to protect this iconic Canadian species. In this second article about geese, we explain important life stages and what attracts them to our neighbourhoods.
MOLT MIGRANTS VERSUS NESTERS:
There is a point in the annual life cycle of the Canada Goose, and many other migratory waterfowl species, when they shed their outer wing feathers, the “primary” feathers, almost entirely at the same time. As a result they are rendered flightless for a few weeks until those feathers grow back in.
The process of first shedding and then re-growing feathers is called “molting” (or “moulting”). Every bird normally molts each and ever feather at least once annually. This usually happens in relatively small amounts to avoid bare patches or complete flightlessness. Most birds who can fly will shed one or two primaries at a time, the same primaries on opposite wings in order to maintain aerodynamic symmetry, so that they never fully lose their flying ability.
But for breeding Canada Geese, this period of complete flightlessness pretty well coincides with when they have flightless babies to raise.
On average it takes three years for Canada Geese to “settle down” with a mate. The female determines where nesting will occur and that is usually where she, herself, originated. But breeding or not, geese want to be in a safe place while flightless, and will travel long distances to places that seem safe – where food and water are in close proximity to each other. Once there, they molt, and having “migrated” there, they are called “molt migrants”. Many people assume they are the same geese who nest there (that is, geese who were raised there). They may also be confused with geese who are seen there in the spring, winter or fall. Molt migrants are birds that choose a very specific location to go through their flightless stage. They will not necessarily either breed or winter there.
Breeding birds have chosen the “right” place for themselves, for the same reasons the molt migrants do – a place that provides good food in proximity to an expanse of water. So it is both the breeding birds and the non-breeding birds, or those whose breeding attempts failed, that make up the “molt migrant” population we see in mid-to late summer.
Canada Geese are attracted to urban and suburban areas, including golf courses, cemeteries, sod farms, and parks, by an irresistible combination of turf grass (lawns, greenswards, sod farms, mowed grass) within easy reach of open water (ponds, lakes, rivers and other wetlands). For a crucial time of the year, usually starting around late June and lasting about a month or so, “easy” means they can move from grass to water on foot, because at that time of year they are flightless. The grass is food; the water is safety, and if nothing but flat ground, or a sandy beach, separates the two, the geese have what they most need. Courtesy us!
Again, the flightless geese we see in summer are not one homogeneous resident group, as is often thought. They consist of breeding pairs, young of the year, older non-breeding birds and molt migrants.
REDUCING OR ELIMINATING THE ATTRACTANTS:
If large numbers of geese are unwanted, a barrier can be put between grass (food) and water (safety). Flightless geese don’t jump, so even a low fence will do the trick, with gates to allow human access to the water. Or simply make the fence low enough to step over. If human access to the water is not required, thick vegetation can be an aesthetically more pleasing barrier. Geese will push their way through soft grasses or between stems or stocks, but they will not push through thick hedges, shrubs, stiff weeds and reeds. They will follow trodden paths through such vegetation, but if the vegetation is intact, it makes an effective barrier.
Inexpensive, three quarter-inch garden netting, placed flat on the ground along the shoreline between the grass and the water can also work. Geese dislike the feel of the netting, and it is relatively easy to apply and maintain.
Another avenue of approach is to plant grass and other vegetation that geese find to be less edible than typical turf grass. We are habituated to think grass that looks like Kentucky blue grass, “goose candy”, is necessary. Geese are far less fond of tall fescue grass, but will eat it if something tastier is unavailable. They like to graze short grass, so the more areas where grass is allowed to grow tall and seed, the better. This is better for the environment overall, reducing the “carbon footprint” of a mowed lawn while providing biodiversity. Planting trees, gardens and “islands” of natural vegetation helps but flat areas where there must be extensive, mowed grass, such as soccer fields and cricket pitches, should be as far from water as possible.
Canada Geese are fearful of the few natural predators adult geese have. Thus even two dimensional plywood cut-outs shaped like coyotes can work to scare them, although more realistic models are better. The models must be moved around, and their appearances and disappearances staggered, and even owl, hawk, snake and other such predatory decoys can work. At one small pond in a gated residential community, I was surprised at how well a simple raft with two human scarecrows in it (both made from store mannequins, one standing, one sitting, both dressed in yellow rain slickers) worked to keep Canada Geese away.
Specially trained dogs (such as Shetland sheepdogs) are very effective. There may be more cost than with other methods, but if Canada Geese are a “problem” over a large enough area, that expense can be commonly shared.
A burgeoning employment opportunity exists with use of mechanical flying falcons. Looking very much like a real Peregrine Falcon – a deadly predator of geese – these models, used sparingly, will chase geese in large numbers and are especially effective in farmlands and other large areas. The idea is to make any area where the birds are not wanted unattractive to them.
Grapeseed extract is commercially available to be sprayed over turf grass to make it unpalatable to the birds. However, it is water soluble and so by itself not a particularly effective deterrent. It does work well, however, especially in small spaces, in conjunction with the other methods.
Sound deterrents fall into two categories. One is a range of distress calls recorded and broadcast. The geese will soon learn that they are predictably repetitive and ignore them. The other is use of large noises including propane canons, and pyrotechnics. Obviously they are also irritating to people and such methods should be used in larger, uninhabited areas such as farms and airports and then only in conjunction with other deterrents and modifications.
Feeding geese, either intentionally or otherwise, should be banned. Canada Geese like much of the same food we like, and people are notoriously messy eaters.
No single method works perfectly, and a mix of all should be used for best effect. The point being that there are non-lethal, cost efficient and effective methods available if our elected officials choose a compassionate approach.