Despite being a native and namesake Canadian species, experts say the Canada goose, with its overwhelming numbers and its daily two pounds of feces, pose problems for Greater Victoria and its migratory bird sanctuaries.

Bruce Harrison, the provincial conservation head for Ducks Unlimited Canada, described the Canada goose as a B次元官网网址渟pecies thatB次元官网网址檚 been moved around a littleB次元官网网址� in reference to their translocation to B.C. in the B次元官网网址�70s. They have always lived in the province, but when their original native population here began to plummet over time, governments stepped in to replenish their local numbers with geese from elsewhere in the country.

In B.C. the sheer number of birds has created an issue. While theyB次元官网网址檙e technically a native species, Harrison admits they may have become more abundant over the last 40 or 50 years than people want.

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B次元官网网址淭he central problem is weB次元官网网址檝e created a very nice area for them in urban areas,B次元官网网址� he said, noting regions like Greater Victoria give them B次元官网网址渁 nice little candy storeB次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 even more convenient than the natural environment they thrive in.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the lawns and grass thatB次元官网网址檙e really attracting them. Most people seem to be pretty mad at them for how they affect sports fields.B次元官网网址�

Beyond ruining a perfectly good soccer pitch, the kilogram of daily droppings a single adult Canada goose can produce can also contaminate water and cause algae blooms that steal oxygen and block sunlight for underwater plants.

Local birder Geoffrey Newell said they can also be aggressive birds and sometimes steal food from ducks and other goose species. He noted this doesnB次元官网网址檛 apply to Canada geese fully native to B.C., which migrate to the Arctic in winter.

According to local biologist Jacques Sirois, the Victoria Harbour and Shoal Harbour migratory bird sanctuaries and the surrounding islands, particularly the Trial Islands Ecological Reserve, are being affected the most.

B次元官网网址淭hey degrade our urban ecology, they fowl our beaches and urban parks and they degrade our migratory bird habitat.B次元官网网址�

Sirois knows of about 40 Canada goose nests on lesser Trial Island and another 40 to 45 on the Chain Islets. Ideally, he would like to see halved the roughly 1,000-bird population around the Victoria Harbour sanctuary. While hunting historically helped moderate goose populations along the Saanich Peninsula, he said, B次元官网网址渢here are a lot less hunters today than there used to be.B次元官网网址�

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The non-profit Guardians of Mid-Island Estuaries Society has led local efforts to sterilize Canada goose eggs since the late B次元官网网址�90s. While in Greater Victoria there may be more egg addling happening than people realize B次元官网网址� the physical process terminates embryo development B次元官网网址� it does not seem to be impacting local goose populations, Sirois said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 complicated to deal with geese here in an urban environment.B次元官网网址�

His estimates put the number of eggs produced by local birds at more than 1,000 a year, with between 200 and 300 geese living around Victoria Golf Club in Oak Bay.

Harrison, unsure of the effectiveness of egg addling, pointed to a couple of innovative ways of managing Canada goose populations. These include a feces B次元官网网址淶amboniB次元官网网址� brought to the Island and a remote-controlled fox named Buster that the City of Kamloops funded to deter the birds from sports fields.

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