Hunt Geese if That's Your Thing, but don't Kid Yourself

Just a little aside because I read a lot of user comments on articles about goose control strategy that advocate goose hunts. I also read articles about towns starting new goose hunting seasons in order to lower populations. I mean, if you enjoy hunting, just be honest about why you do it. It has nothing to do with lowering goose populations. Frankly, hunters are lucky if they take home one goose. Everyone knows that when you shoot toward a flock, the birds will scatter from the noise. This makes it pretty difficult to make a real difference on the population.

Think of this situation as a fire drill for geese. They're not leaving for good. They know there's a potential danger so they are sitting it out momentarily, waiting to return when it is safe. I wrote a little blurb earlier about why lethal methods don't work and all of that reasoning applies here. I just thought I'd add something about goose hunting in general because it is a common topic in the papers these days.

A response to Feeding Ban/Goose Control Protesters

I spend a lot of time reading articles about the feeding bans around the world. In New York, Simcha Felder is meeting a lot of resistance from people who love pigeons. Similarly, when communities are dealing with Canada Goose infestations, people are horrified. The comment that I hear most often is: "Humans made this situation; now we should put up with it."

I have to say I have a real problem with this attitude.

These individuals aren't thinking deeply about how people affect pigeons or other birds. While feeding pigeons might seem like a loving act it is really very harmful. By feeding them, we are stripping them of their food gathering instincts. The longer this goes on, the more damaging our effect on bird populations will be. Beyond the superficial "full" feeling, we are not doing anything good for pigeon health. When we feed birds, we feed them commercial bird seed, white bread, popcorn, etc. We aren't feeding them the foods they need to be healthy. We are filling them up on empty calories so they are not motivated to look for healthy food choices.

In terms of Canada Goose populations, people say that even non-lethal methods are "unnatural" and therefore shouldn't be used. Instead, these individuals would prefer that we leave the goose population alone and just let things unfold without intervention. Let me tell you something...the current goose population is not natural. In fact, until recently, Canada Geese were endangered until the 1960's. Thanks to "unnatural" conservation efforts we have revived the population. Now, the Canada Goose population is expanding by 15% each year. Because many of the birds involved in conservation never learned to migrate a lot of the birds stay in the United States year-round rather than making the return to Canada for summer. This puts a very unnatural stress on land that has never dealt with such huge wildlife populations. There simply aren't enough resources in some of the areas that Canada Geese have chosen to live in. Furthermore, to those who claim that geese are being pushed out of their natural habitat by urbanization I offer this line of reasoning: First of all, there is still PLENTY of undeveloped land. The fact is, that geese prefer to live by people because we construct artificial lakes with high surrounding visibility which makes them feel safe, there is a steady source of food, and there are virtually no predators. Despite the fact that geese are attracted to the habitats we've made for ourselves, they are perfectly capable of fending for themselves. There is no reason why we should hesitate to discourage geese from depending on us and living on our land.

A place to start: Humane Strategies for Controlling Wild Bird Infestations

For people who want their options spelled out, I'll gladly break them down for you:

Visual Scares: These devices are meant to intimidate birds by resembling their predators. Most people think of scarecrows, rubber snakes, or plastic owls when they think of this category. If you’ve ever used one of the aforementioned products you’re probably already aware that they don’t work. A rubber snake has the same effect on a bird as it does on you. At first you might be scared and then once that initial reaction passes you quickly see that it’s not moving and you go on with your daily business. Birds do not get intimidated by things that look like predators; they are intimidated by things that act like predators. This is why having a stationary object is ineffective. Look for scares that incorporate movement along with the appearance. One effective product is a special balloon that can be attached to a tree or post. These balloons have holographic eyes on them that follow birds as they fly by and bounce around in the wind creating the feeling that this thing might actually be alive. Just make sure, when using visual scares, to move the devices around every so often so birds don’t become accustomed to seeing them.

Auditory Devices: Auditory devices are broken down into two subcategories: sonic and ultrasonic. Both categories are heard by birds but ultrasonic devices use a frequency that is above the range of human hearing.

Ultrasonic devices are best used in semi-enclosed or enclosed areas because the waves dissipate fairly quickly when compared to sonic devices. They are good for places like outdoor restaurants, airplane hangars etc because they can cover a small area effectively without people even knowing that it’s working. These products also drive away bat populations. Look for a system with multiple speakers so you can control the direction of the sound waves and create a surround sound effect.

Sonic devices are heard by both humans and birds. They use a variety of recordings that can include the sounds of predators, gunshots, and most importantly, distress calls of birds. The combination of sounds from predators like coyotes or owls and the distress calls create a very convincing ruse. When birds hear these sounds they feel unsafe in the surrounding environment. These products can be species specific or for general use. Something that makes a sonic device more effective is the inclusion of change in the product. Like the visual scare devices, birds become accustomed to anything that stays the same for too long. Make sure the device you use alternates the order and frequency of the sound effects.

Physical Barriers: Physical barriers are pretty straight forward. If you see a bird roosting somewhere, but a barrier on it. There are rows of spikes available to attach on your roof, on ledges, etc that do not hurt the birds, they just make the surface very uninviting and uncomfortable. In addition, there are sticky gels that you can either dot on small surfaces or dilute and spray over a larger surface that stick to the birds feet and feathers that just make them feel uncomfortable and want to find another place to land next time. Another option is netting which physically keeps birds out of a particular area.

Taste/Smell Aversions: Birds have a sense called the Trigeminal sense which humans lack. It is something like taste or smell. As it turns out, this sense is very much disturbed and overwhelmed by the scent of a chemical found in concord grapes. There are products which use this chemical, called Methyl Anthranilate (a common flavoring used for candy, gum, soda, and drugs for decades), which you can spray on your land that gives birds a similar sensation to what humans get when exposed to the scent of bleach. It won’t kill the birds, it will just make them want to get away from the source of this feeling.

There are tons of products out there that can help you to reclaim your property. While they are all helpful on their own, they are best used synergistically. If your land offers a lot to the birds they are going to need a lot of motivation to leave and try to find a replacement home. They will be willing to put up with some abuse. If you take an approach that addresses more than one of their senses they will be much less enamored with the home they’ve made on your property—and much more likely to leave you in peace to enjoy your upcoming spring season.