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CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Militant approach needed to control Canada goose population in border city, says expert
Social Sharing Managing Windsor's population of Canada geese will require militant effort over multiple years to truly make a dent in the number of the birds throughout the city. That's according to Dan Frankian of Hawkeye Bird and Animal Control Specialists — a bird control expert with more than 36 years of experience managing animal populations. "They're coming after you and you're going after them, and we know how militant they can be," Frankian told CBC. The former Canadian Armed Forces sniper and master falconer has traveled all over the world to help large corporations and government agencies get bird populations under control. Frankian said dealing with Canada geese needs special diligence. "I mean, they call them the Canadian Air Force not for unknown reasons. These things are good, all right," Frankian advised. The City of Windsor has hired a contractor to remove 150 eggs from seven nesting locations in Windsor. It's a method that requires a permit from the federal government. Council approved a $30,000 geese management strategy as part of the city's annual operating budget earlier this year. Management plan a good start, says federal government Riverside-area councillor Jo-Anne Gignac pushed for action on the issue after she heard last summer from a constituent complaining about nearly colliding with geese while riding a bike on Ganatchio Trail. "He swerved to avoid them. He was thrown from his bike and spent four days in the hospital with a broken collar bone and six broken ribs," Gignac told council in June 2024. Geese crossing busy roads have led to other collisions in the city, in some cases sending people to hospital with serious injuries. "These flocks of geese just walking out into the road, people slamming on their brakes, and it's a mess," Gignac told council. But a spokesperson for the federal government said Windsor's management plan is a good starting point that's in line with what similar sized cities across Ontario have been doing. "However, habitat modification and education remain vital to mitigating human-goose conflicts in Windsor," wrote Samuel Lafontaine, a spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada. The federal agency 430 permits regarding Canada geese have been issued across Canada since 2020, and 97 per cent of them include egg management methods. 'Do not let the population grow' The Canadian Wildlife Service says Canada geese lay two to eight eggs a year, starting when the adults are around three years old. The large birds nest in the spring in familiar areas for their entire lives — which can be as long as 25 years. That means one Canada goose could produce 176 eggs in its lifetime. According to the Canadian Wildlife Service, late April to early June is when geese are most aggressive — because they're motivated to protect their recently hatched goslings. Frankian said oils can be applied to eggs to prevent them from hatching — but that won't dissuade a Canada goose from nesting at a location again. He said the city's contractor should act like a predator to the full extent that the federal permit allows. "Destroy the nest, destroy the eggs, do it in front of the female," advised Frankian, who emphasized that the act needs to show the goose that all humans are a threat. "The basic thing is: Do not let the population grow." According to the City of Windsor, its federal permit only authorizes "the removal of nests and eggs during a defined period." But Frankian believes outright, obvious destruction of the nest and eggs is necessary for the plan to be truly effective. Otherwise, the goose will persist in nesting again. "You are trying to tell the goose, get out, don't come back," Frankian said. Windsor resorts to removing geese eggs for population control 3 hours ago Duration 2:40 The City of Windsor has obtained a federal permit to remove 150 Canada goose eggs — part of an effort to control the local population of the large and persistent bird. But anti-goose expert Dan Frankian says the city will need to be militant about the plan. CBC's Chris Ensing reports. University sports fields protected by dogs This isn't the first time Windsor has tried to get geese out of popular park areas such as the riverfront trail. In 2019, city staff placed two-dimensional dog-shaped cutouts on the riverfront to try to scare away geese. The University of Windsor tried the same, then had a better idea: Employ an actual dog to chase the geese off campus sport areas. Winston, a St. Bernard-Mastiff mix, is owned by Rick Daly — manager of athletic facilities and services at the university. Twice daily, Winston runs through the track and football fields of the Toldo Lancer Centre, making life difficult for geese. "Ultimately it's just to annoy them so that they're not nasty," Daly explained. Daly consulted with golf course operators to find the right approach to preventing the accumulation of "geese content" — the term Daly uses for goose droppings. Daly also encourages fellow dog-owning staff members to bring their pets to campus and help out. "We simply just want to gently remove the geese from locating here." "The dogs won't necessarily catch them. They won't be able to." Daly said Winston gets paid for his work with treats and hugs. Mutli-year effort needed, says expert Frankian said that a dog can work to deter geese from frequenting a park — but it needs to be consistent. Chasing geese with dogs is the only method that doesn't require a federal permit, Frankian added. The stronger method would be to obtain a permit that allows for physical relocation of geese to other communities. "Geese molt," said Frankian. "In other words, these flight feathers entirely disappear. They fall off every year. They're flightless." That time of year is when experienced bird control professionals will slowly corral the geese into manageable groups that can be put into trucks and moved elsewhere. According to Frankian, the key is to outlast the geese with your efforts: You don't stop until the geese give up — which will take more than a few years. "When they give up, you do an extra year, and then you're done," Frankian said.
Japan Times
14-04-2025
- Climate
- Japan Times
'Hard on the body': Canadian troops train for Arctic defense
In normal conditions, Canadian Air Force helicopter pilot Jonathan Vokey uses the treeline to gauge his altitude. But in the Arctic, where the landing zone is an expanse of white snow, he has to adjust. "Operating in the cold, it's hard on the body, but it also can be challenging with the aircraft as well," Vokey, an Air Force captain, said during an exercise aimed at preparing Canadian troops to operate in the country's extreme north, a region fast becoming a military priority. Canada is making a significant push to boost its military strength in the Arctic, which accounts for 40% of its territory. Arctic ice is melting as a result of climate change, opening up the region and increasing the risk of confrontation with rivals such as Russia over the area's natural resources, including minerals, oil and gas, as well as fresh water. "If I was to boil it down: you can access the north now more easily than you have ever been able to. And I would say that that's going to change even more drastically over the next 10, 20 years," said Col. Darren Turner, joint task force commander of Operation Nanook, the annual Arctic training exercise established in 2007. "Once a route is opened, they will come. And that is something that we need to have an interest in. That is something that we need to have the capabilities to interdict, to stop," he said. That requires training more troops to operate in the region's extreme conditions and deploy to three Arctic military hubs that the government plans to build. Operation Nanook — the word for "polar bear" in an Inuit language — is central to that effort. In a long tent pitched on a vast sheet of ice and snow, troops practiced diving into frigid water. In another location, teams worked on detecting hostile activity with infrared imaging, a particular challenge in the Arctic where the cold can obscure thermal signatures. 'A little different' Dive team leader Jonathan Jacques Savoie said managing the brutal weather is key. "The main challenge on Op. Nanook in this location is the environment. The environment always dictates how we live, fight and move in the field," he said, noting the day's temperature of minus 26 degrees Celsius. This year's operation marked the first Arctic deployment for Corporal Cassidy Lambert, an infantry reservist. She's from the eastern province of Newfoundland and Labrador, where maritime Atlantic weather creates wet, damp winters. The Arctic, she conceded, is "going to be a little different." "I don't handle the cold too well, but I think I've prepped myself well enough," she said. Steven Breau, a rifleman with New Brunswick's North Shore regiment, said troops are trained on a range of region-specific safety measures, like avoiding frostbite. Sweat can also become a problem. "It's really important to stay dry, to take body heat into account. If you get too hot, you sweat. It gets wet, then it gets cold, then it freezes." 'Direct confrontation' The surrounding frozen tundra does not immediately look like the next front line in a looming global conflict. But leaders in multiple countries have put a spotlight on the Arctic. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Greenland, insisting the United States needs the autonomous Danish territory for its security. And days after taking over as Canada's Prime Minister last month, Mark Carney visited Iqaluit, in another part of the Canadian Arctic, to announce a multibillion-dollar radar deal he said would be crucial to securing the nation's sovereignty. Briefing troops arriving for Operation Nanook, Major Andrew Melvin said a direct confrontation with Chinese or Russian forces was "highly unlikely" during the exercise. But, he added, "it is possible that either the PRC (People's Republic of China) or the RF (Russian Federation) intelligence services will seek to collect intelligence during the conduct of Op. Nanook." For Col. Turner, protecting the Arctic from hostile actors means safeguarding a region that is inseparable from Canadian identity. "It's a part of our raison d'etre ... from a sovereignty perspective."
South China Morning Post
12-04-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
‘Hard on the body': Canadian troops battle brutal conditions to train for Arctic defence
In normal conditions, Canadian Air Force helicopter pilot Jonathan Vokey uses the tree line to gauge his altitude. But in the Arctic, where the landing zone is an expanse of white snow, he has to adjust. Advertisement 'Operating in the cold, it's hard on the body, but it also can be challenging with the aircraft as well,' Vokey, an Air Force captain, said during an exercise aimed at preparing Canadian troops to operate in the country's extreme north, a region fast becoming a military priority. Canada is making a significant push to boost its military strength in the Arctic, which accounts for 40 per cent of its territory. Arctic ice is melting as a result of climate change, opening up the region and increasing the risk of confrontation with rivals such as Russia over the area's natural resources, including minerals, oil and gas, as well as fresh water. Canadian soldiers set up camp during Operation Nanook in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada, on March 2. Photo； AFP 'If I was to boil it down: you can access the north now more easily than you have ever been able to. And I would say that that's going to change even more drastically over the next 10, 20 years,' said Colonel Darren Turner, joint task force commander of Operation Nanook, the annual Arctic training exercise established in 2007.
