Bird Strike Committee Proceedings

 

Date of this Version

8-2008

Comments

Abstract of poster presentation at Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada Meeting, Lake Mary and Sanford, Florida, August 18–21, 2008.

Abstract

Increasing resident Canada geese create major crop loss problems, and increased air strike potential. There is a growing need for effective, non-lethal means to disperse resident Canada geese. Success in removing geese rapidly from any of the above situations should produce results that can be applied to all. From 16 May – 28 August, 2007, alarm/alert call playback from GOOSEBUSTER™ call units, Bird–X Inc., Chicago IL, was used with a one minute delayed reinforcement by firing cracker shells to assess efficacy at reducing goose numbers at a sewage treatment plant and several farms with past records of heavy summer crop loss near Horicon Marsh, Wisconsin. Success was based upon reduction in goose/hours/month or week/site use before and after treatment. The new technique of “On demand use of call units, coupled with firing screamer and banger shells” was found to produce the most rapid and effective method for inducing long term site avoidance by geese of any method tested to date. Goose presence on the sewage facility dropped from >14,445 goose hours/week to < 53.6/week, a 99.7% drop, within 4 days and remained there for the remaining months of the study. Crop damage reduction was 94.7%, to 100%, “no significant goose damage” by USDA crop evaluation personnel. Goose hours/month on the largest crop test site decreased from >36,000 to <200 goose/hr/month, a 99.45% reduction, in only 4 days and three uses of calls and shells. No sign of habituation to reinforced “on demand” alarm call use was found over the course of the 100 days of the study. Application of this method should provide rapid and effective long-term removal of geese from areas near or on airport properties with less than 2 total hours of human involvement to accomplish the results, based on this study.

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