Who's getting fooled here?

Other than certain well-known vices, too much of a good thing really is possible. Wildlife is one of these good things, and it is certainly treasured. But  when you come to view the majestic Canada goose as an invader, a permanent houseguest who refuses to leave — for months — you view these imposing birds not as regal and majestic, but rather menacing and marauding, and, as most know, messy. Ask anyone who has had experience with them, and their aftermath, either stepping in it, sweeping it from walkways or cleaning it off an automobile. They have settled into public spaces (with or without ponds), office parks, farms and small homesteads. And, for the past few decades, they have found it a good idea to winter here at our farm along Starlight Creek.

But we have a two-acre trout pond (although with more turtles than trout), which I suppose is the main attraction. And adjacent to the pond are acres and acres of fields (grass) which, taken together, could not be a better goose habitat. I have never seen the remains of an attacked goose, but we have quite a few predators here: a multitude of foxes, red-tailed hawks, huge and ravenous snapping turtles, and my livestock dog, Hoodee, a beautiful white Akbash.

The first three are (or should be) very effective. They have a few thousand years of predation under their belts; but it is Hoodee that has some serious learnin’ to do. She is really just a dilettante — she casually dabbles in pest control. But, then again, she is young (about a year old), just a large puppy really. We have from say, 30 to more than a 100 geese by or in the pond at any one time, depending on the day (and I have no idea why the count varies so much), and there is one — only one — bird that cannot fly. It runs, and runs, like a plane down a runway, but it never achieves liftoff. Fat? Injured? Lazy? Old? Who knows. But which bird do you think Hoodee goes for?

I’ve seen her grab this big bird twice now, and both captures ended in a standoff, with Hoodee releasing the bird unharmed. As soon as she had control of the goose, she became confused and didn’t know what in the world to do with it. She then immediately looked back at me for a command. And since none was forthcoming other than my mild amusement, she simply turned it loose.

So, clearly, we have no managing control over these guests. The only polite thing to do, as you might with an overstaying houseguest, is to suggest strongly that they move along. We’ve done this by installing about a half dozen flat silhouettes of patrolling dogs near the pond. Ours are in the shape of a thick, muscular pointer — on point, nonetheless. I can tell you that the effectiveness of these lasted about a week, until we saw the geese lying down and sleeping alongside these “patrol” dogs. We all remarked that this scene would make just the most humorous photograph, but after a while even the humor wore thin.

I’ve seen many other dog silhouettes in recent years, with those at the Fairgrounds, the public ballpark in Far Hills, appearing as German shepherds. These shapes are much different and distinct with their hips down and their chests out — they look like they are ready to pounce. And I drive by them almost every day and I notice that there are not any observable geese anywhere within range. Other than the silhouette, or the type of dog (breed), the difference in these deterrents is that the Fairgrounds’ dogs are mounted on a single pivot driven into the ground so the wind spins them around — creating almost constant motion. Ours are fixed and are driven into the ground by two stakes, fore and aft.

So, day after day goes by and I see — literally see — the effectiveness of the pivoting shepherds. There are no geese in the Fairgrounds and I imagine that they all picked up and left for parts unknown — or those great secret and safe places that only geese know about. But then, I sadly realize, this very place is here with us along Starlight Creek, snoozing with the pointers in our fields — with not a care in the world, or a sanitary facility. NJC

William D. Trego is a writer and the publisher of fly-fishing books at Meadow Run Press in Far Hills.