Hunters, suburbanites take on unflappable bird (Canada Goose)

Detroit News ^ | 9-8-03 | Francis X Donnelly

[Dan from Michigan]

SOUTHFIELD -- Everyone knows that Canadians are a polite, honest people who wouldn't dream of imposing on their neighbors to the south.

But have you met their geese?

The Canada goose, or, as some locals call them, flying rats, swarm Michigan's fields and streams with no intention of leaving. Ever.

[Dan from Michigan]

Who isn't moved, they ask, by the graceful flight of the gaggle as it glides through the sky in a V-formation?

I'm not.

And is not their honk-a-lonk a siren song from the deepest heart of nature?

No. It's annoying, probably the most annoying noise of all the birds, give or take the crow or red winged blackbird's noises. I prefer a loon.

Elaine Chamberlain of Royal Oak likes to take her two children to Oakland County parks to see the geese.

Better be careful, Elaine. Geese are known to bite. They call the term 'goosed', goosed for a reason.

I hope these loud noisy mean honkers get wiped out. Unfortunatly, most areas that need them offed are also 450 ft from buildings. :(

[cavtrooper21]

Airborne Carp alert..
May try for two this year, should be no great trick.

[brianl703]

When these annoying pests cross the road, they expect traffic to stop for them.

I really doubt they're quick enough to get out of the way if someone were to punch the gas instead of stopping.

[presidio9]

One thing needs to be made clear about Canada geese:

The non-migratory birds are not natural inhabitants. They are the descendents of escaped "live decoys" and they need to be controlled the same way stray cats are contolled. They outcompete and crowd out natural species such as ducks.

[presidio9]

[Damocles]

I've hit a couple of them. Not much damage to my 1988 Jeep junker, but it does have a satisfying crunch.

Their just too stupid to move.

A little fishing line between posts has worked great for my father-in-law who lives on a lake. They get tired of tripping and falling on their beaks after a while.

For those who do manage to stay, they make great targets for the pellet gun...

[presidio9]

For those who do manage to stay, they make great targets for the pellet gun...

You, sir, are worse than Hitler.

[The_Victor]

In the 1920s, some naturalists got to tinkering with nature and brought several geese into the state from Minnesota.

Can you say "unintended consequences". Gooood!

Environmentalist wacko'ism comes full circle.

[MD_Willington_1976]

Bagged some Quails doing 60 with my pickup truck yesterday...they were flying away from the highway as I approached then going into an S-turn, all of a sudden they did a 180 & kamikazi'd me, thump, thump, bang...my truck won that round...a big Goose is a bit different though, they weigh a bit and can do some damage at highway speed.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

ping

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Rats with wings.

[hoosierskypilot]

some naturalists got to tinkering with nature

And there you have it. Some new-age-existential-connect-with-the-planet freaks salaried by the govt to make life hard for real people.

[jpl]

Who isn't moved, they ask, by the graceful flight of the gaggle as it glides through the sky in a V-formation?

Good article, but the author made a common mistake. A flying group of geese is correctly identified as a "skein". A "gaggle" is a group of geese on the ground.

[Michael Barnes]

I really doubt they're quick enough to get out of the way if someone were to punch the gas instead of stopping.

Trust me, their not fast enough

;)

[July 4th]

Same problem here in Wisconsin. There's really nothing as disgusting as trying to play soccer on a field that was previously inhabited by geese.

[dead]

"Drop the bomb. Exterminate them all."
"PBR Street Gang this is Almighty, over.."
"The horror. The horror..."

[GOP_Proud]

We have a terrible problem with them here in the parks. They've made picnics by the lakes impossible. Kids can't play for stepping in "goose poop". It's almost wall to wall on some sidewalks. Maintenance people are constantly out washing the sidewalks in the industrial park where I work. They seem oblivious to everything and just meander on their way. We're talking hundreds in the vicinity of my building alone. You should see the traffic tie-ups at quiting time as we are forced to stop to let them cross. No, we aren't allowed to deliberately hurt them.

[D Rider]

I hope these loud noisy mean honkers get wiped out. Unfortunatly, most areas that need them offed are also 450 ft from buildings. :(

Geese are just plain yummy. They need to change the hunting reg.s, forget the 12 guage, and allow netting. If netted, there is much less of a change of cracking a tooth on steel shot. You could also go out on your back lawn with a buddy and fill your daily limit in about 10 minutes.

[Porterville]

Well if their "Canadian" geese why not just shoot them and eat them for dinner??? Who really cares???

[Richard-SIA]

Most "Park Geese" are totally unafraid of people, they are addicted to the treats humans continue to give them.
This makes them easy to "hunt" near homes.
They can usually be driven into a net and dispatched away from sight of the local bunny huggers.
A machete works great if being observed is not a problem.
A bow equipped for bow-fishing (arrow is tied to a reel of 40 lb. test fishing line) ensures that no bunny hugger finds a wounded goose wandering around.

They are pretty big, I usually only get one or two a year.

With a limit of five a day, ten in posession, a generouse person could supply the local homeless shelters and old folks homes with a lot of good preservative free meat. ;-)