CANADA GEESE

Nearly everyone in Michigan has put their foot in it at some time. Goose droppings.

The Giant Canada Geese are the culprits. They seem to be without number, and they poop freely wherever they go. This is not nice poop, it is vile. (Actually, there are about 187,000 est., Canada Geese in Michigan.)

In the JACK PINE WARBLER, a publication of the Michigan Audubon Society (March/April 2007), the problem of the big nuisance is discussed. One theme of this story is that we the people are inviting these birds into our lives when they ought to be off somewhere minding their own business.

Here's how we do it: We build ponds and then plant near them, the sort of flora the geese like.

Not only that, within the confines of backyards, golf courses, and municipal ponds, the geese are safe from their predators: fox, bobcats, coyotes, and hunters.

Too, grammas, bird lovers and little kids with popcorn like to feed them .

Here are some suggestions from the DNR and Audubon:

1. Build barriers (fences, hedges, etc.) between ponds and grassy areas. Three foot high barriers are enough.

2. Don't ever feed them. Try to deny them sources of food.

3. Hunt them.

4. Apply repellants to grassy areas.

5. Train a dog to chase them. Of course, dogs add a new problem.

No one, least of all, the DNR or the Audubon Society, wants to wipe them out. But, they can be discouraged from areas where they are a nuisance. It's not an easy problem, and as Audubon says: if you find you have a small problem and don't deal with it, you'll discover that you have a very big problem.