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These birds are well known. Locally they are known as the sh** flock. This particular flock landed in a pasture that is fertilized by wastewater from a sewage-treatment plant. They roost there, but daily they wing across San Francisco Bay to the Golden Gate Fields race track, where they feed on grass in the infield, or pick seeds from the grain-rich manure left by the thoroughbreds. The sh** flock are "wild" birds and legal game — but surely not destined for my table. Remember the good old days when Canada geese were wild birds? Those enormous "V's" passed overhead each fall, and people stopped and looked upward in awe. Well, those days are behind us. All across the U.S., Canada geese have stopped migrating. They've settled into ponds and green spaces at malls, subdivisions, airports, and sewage-treatment plants, to enjoy the good life. We need to rethink what to do with them. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that there are close to 4 million Canada geese in the U.S. At least two-thirds are residents and a full 1.1 million reside between New York and Virginia. Fifty years ago there were less than one million Canada geese for the entire U.S., almost all migratory. In some areas the flocks are experiencing double-digit growth. Not only are they noisy and dirty, but their excrement creates septic conditions in ponds that lead to the breeding of avian cholera and botulism. Because their feces contain salmonella and E. coli bacteria, geese can contaminate drinking-water supplies and create public-health problems. When they are nesting, Canada geese will attack people and pets. Believe me, you do not want a 12-pound goose after you. Just what to do with the formerly "majestic" birds is not clear — or easy — in a politically correct world. Trapping the birds and relocating them usually does not work. These guys are as good as homing pigeons in finding their way back to a point of origin. Some states have special early goose seasons that target resident geese before the migrants arrive. Others drive birds off the nests and shake the eggs so they will not hatch. Others catch young birds and kill them by suffocation. Everything works in moderation, but these are smart birds. They quickly learn where one's goose is cooked or not. As might be expected, animal-rights advocates argue for "humane" methods of non-lethal goose control. I heard of one guy with a profitable business called "Goosebusters." He rents dogs trained to chase away backyard honkers. The father of wildlife biology, Aldo Leopold, wrote of a "land ethic" to guide our actions in such cases: "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends to do otherwise." A hundred years ago we stopped commercial harvesting of game, or "market hunting," because it was unregulated and it decimated wildlife. Maybe it's time for a change. Geese overpopulations suggest that we may need to amend the Lacey Act, which prohibits the commercial harvest and sale of migratory birds. Market hunting for geese would be a lot more humane than leaving the geese alone. No action means letting wild geese populations destroy habitats for other wildlife. It also means health problems for humans and domestic livestock. Market hunting would also have the economic advantage of generating revenue (e.g. license sales, job creation, etc.) where we now have to pay out money to fund solutions that aren't working. It would also transform a sh** flock back into a majestic flock, with the ability to inspire us — and feed us. — James Swan is a contributing editor of ESPNOutdoors.com.
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f the turkey is the traditional main course for Thanksgiving, then the
goose must take honors for Christmas. The other day I went out scouting
the prospects for bagging a wild goose for Christmas. We headed north
and then east on Highway 37, which runs along the northern marshes of
San Francisco Bay. Our destination was the Sacramento National Wildlife
Refuge and the spectacular snow goose. But only a short way into our trip
we ran into a honker of a lesser sort — the Canada goose.
