Flocks of Canadian geese relocated to Essex County
Geese are rounded up in Kitchener and relocated to Essex County. CTV Windsor's Bob Bellacicco explains why.
Norm North, owner of Integrated Goose Management Services, dropped off 17 adult geese and 32 goslings Wednesday at Jack Miner. Additionally, 156 were delivered Tuesday to the migratory bird sanctuary, all from the Waterloo area.
His trip to Kingsville is part of a pilot relocation program to help manage an issue some are calling 'nuisance geese' in parks and green spaces. The geese dropped off at Jack Miner this week were part of an overpopulation problem at Waterloo Park in Waterloo, where officials say about 350 geese have taken over.
North's company motto is, 'Striving to put myself out of business. Ideally that's what will happen.'
'Cities that are dealing with ballooning populations usually have goose relocation as part of their strategy, in addition to many other strategies, to push wildlife out of their public spaces,' said Matthew Olewski, executive director of Jack Miner. 'Goose relocation allows the geese to be relocated here to a safe place.'
According to a release from the City of Waterloo, a permit from the Canadian Wildlife Service was granted, allowing a relocation team to gather the birds and drive them to Kingsville.
In June, many geese can't fly because they are molting (a natural period when birds shed and regrow their feathers, leaving them unable to fly for about four to five weeks), or too young, making it a good time for relocation
Essex Region Conservation Authority CAO Tim Byrne said he appreciates what is being done, but also has concerns.
'They (Jack Miner) are fantastic stewards. I think this is okay, but the capacity of any region to handle anything has to be looked at,' Byrne cautioned. 'These are migratory waterfowl, and we have to somehow ensure that process is not tampered with and that these creatures don't become just so imprinted that they can just hang out here.'
'I think it's a nice thing, but we want to temper any active continuation or other municipalities turning their problem into our problem. A measured response I think is best and should be monitored and looked at in that way,' said Byrne.
Matthew Olewski, executive director of Jack Miner, ensures the project has been tried with other communities in the Toronto area with success.
'They only see about 10 per cent of these geese returning to those public spaces, so we know the goose relocation does work,' said Olewski, who explained the birds are dropped off, banded, and properly nurtured at the sanctuary. 'These are birds that are going to come here and develop into healthy adults, and they are going to migrate.'
Olewski added the birds delivered to the sanctuary in Kingsville is a blip in the overall population. 'In terms of the impact on local goose populations, we're seeing 160 come in. The impact is 160 new birds in this area for the time and when fall migration kicks off, they're going to be migrating.'
When it comes to migratory waterfowl, Olewski feels work needs to be done to push geese out of public places.
'There are many things they (municipalities across the province) can do in addition to goose relocation,' Olewski pointed out. 'If you don't change the environmental conditions that attracts geese to a specific area, they will continue to move back into those locations. Fresh cut lawn. Access to water. Those are the prime two needs of waterfowl, and we see plenty of that in public spaces.'
More native pollinators, light and noise deterrents, egg oiling (application of biodegradable vegetable-based oil to newly laid eggs to prevent hatching, under Canadian Wildlife Service permitting) and egg removal are measures some municipalities are using to control the Canada goose population.
'You need to start to think critically about making the conditions less favorable for geese to develop into very strong local populations.' Olewski said.
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