The right way to conduct a literal 'wild goose chase'

ALBANY — “If you feel the urge, don’t be afraid to go on a wild goose chase. What do you think wild geese are for anyway?” ‒ Will Rogers

Goose populations have increased dramatically for a variety of reasons. Combining this fact with human interactions, such as feeding, leads to urban congregation with resulting increased human-goose interactions.

While most species of geese were once almost eradicated in the U.S. as a result of market hunting and habitat destruction of their populations, today geese are at record levels in many locations. Geese have the ability to adapt easily to differing environments, from farmland and rural reservoirs to suburban neighborhoods, ponds, parks and golf courses.

“I think most people have a story about a negative goose encounter; Canada geese that are around humans daily or are being fed can lose their fear of humans,” Kara Nitschke, the state waterfowl biologist with the DNR's Game Management Section, said.

When protecting their nests, geese take their lack of fear one step further in defense of their nest site or young goslings. They will challenge and chase any humans or pets they perceive to be a threat. While protecting a nest may be an action most can overlook, the defiling of docks, fairways, and parks with feces and molted feathers is another thing. It’s easy to overlook until it’s your shoe that needs cleaning.

With the nesting season and molting underway, landowners and property managers with marauding geese have some options. However, it’s important to remember that Canada geese are a protected species under state and federal law. It is illegal to hunt, kill, sell, purchase, or possess Canada geese except according to Georgia's migratory bird regulations or other federal permits.

However, a variety of legal methods of dealing with Canada geese and other species are outlined at GeorgiaWildlife.com/preventing-wildlife-conflicts. Scroll to “Common Conflict Species” and click on “Canada Geese:”

· Harassment: Landowners who don’t want geese on their property should first try a variety of harassment techniques, including chemical repellents, metallic flagging, wire/string barriers, and noise makers. Now is the best time to act because geese are just beginning to select their nesting sites. Scaring the geese away now will reduce problems later in the summer. However, these methods do require consistency from the property owner and are not always 100% effective.

· Reduce Goose Reproduction: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued regulations that allow for additional control measures, apart from harassment techniques and traditional hunting, to help address human-goose conflicts. One of those regulations is a permit for reducing goose reproduction through nest and egg removal, egg addling or oiling, which prevent the eggs from hatching.

Unchecked, these problematic geese will become a growing nuisance for the offended property owner as they habitually return to the nesting site where they were born. In an effort to provide additional relief, the Georgia DNR has increased legal harvest limits for Georgia hunters that want to take advantage of the opportunity to legally harvest geese within state and Federal guidelines.

“Permits provide a legal way to keep the number of adult geese on a property from growing too large through years of unchecked reproduction,” Nitschke said.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permits are available at epermits.fws.gov/eRCGR/geSI.aspx. Their website also contains useful information on the methods for addling or oiling the eggs or removing the nests, and when each method may be appropriate.