Goose chase!
Enjoy urban wildlife? How about geese? If you said yes to the latter, the following fun fact should make you happy: Over the past 20 years, the North American Canada goose population has quadrupled to over 4 million!
If you’re among those who said no, you probably find this fact cringe-worthy.
That’s because, due to the extreme resiliency and city adaptability of Canada geese, they easily disturb and crowd out native wildlife like Great Blue Herons. Take the average adult Canada goose, whose daily consumption of three to four pounds of vegetation yields two to three pounds of droppings. Multiplied by hundreds of geese, these droppings, combined with overgrazing, can create animal and ecosystem health issues such as soil erosion, poor water quality, and lost habitat for other urban wildlife species.
In 2009, a Canada geese engine strike dropped US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River.
Then there’s when geese attack humans, either intentionally, like during breeding season, or not, as when aviation bird strikes threaten planes and all aboard.
Whether you love geese or not, one thing’s for sure: you’re going to see more of them. Portland, situated on the Pacific Flyway, is a highway for West Coast bird migration. Due to our ample food supplies for waterfowl, lack of predators, and wide-open spaces, we’ve also become a year-round habitat for part of the Canada goose population. These new full-time residents also attract large flocks of migratory geese to properties -- and that’s often when trouble emerges.
Goose dog Fish sets boundaries.
But how to handle these nuisance neighbors humanely? Time has shown that Canada geese quickly ignore other deterrents such as swans, fake coyotes, flashing lights, noisemakers, and pet dogs.
Here at Geese Guys, LLC, we believe we’ve got an answer: working border collies!
With a goal to encourage ecosystem resilience and biodiversity, Geese Guys uses an integrated approach that includes a dog herding program, habitat modification, egg depredation, and humane wildlife education. We do all of this in conjunction with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s management protocols and permits, and the methods we utilize are supported by the Humane Society of the United States and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Goose dog Daze demonstrates how her stare and stalking moves the geese.
Our border collies are trained to humanely stalk and flush Canada geese off client properties without physically coming in contact with the animals. A Geese Guys dog does this with an intense gaze and stalking behavior, both bred into border collies over generations, that mimic a wild predator, such as a coyote, and quickly make the geese believe that their current site is not safe.
We work predominantly with schools, condominiums, golf courses, and cemeteries. We are also involved with habitat restoration efforts to temporarily keep geese away while native plantings establish themselves.
Daze chases a flock off a client's property.
Our clients benefit from cleaner grounds, improved water quality, decreased maintenance and landscaping costs, and increased biodiversity of native birds and mammals.
At Geese Guys, we believe that Canada geese have a place in the Pacific Northwest, in less detrimental numbers, and we support the efforts of local agencies to create viable habitat for wildlife.
Have questions? Please don’t hesitate to contact us.