Learning to live with the Canada goose, a veritable 'poop machine'

Ask Dan Hicks about the iconic Canada goose, and the first thing you're going to get is a laugh.

"Oh, you mean the ever-evolving goose chase?" Hicks said in a telephone interview from his office with the City of Moncton.

As director of parks operations with the city, he has been dealing with complaints about the birds for years.

"It's what they leave behind," Hicks said, "They're quite prolific in that regard."

There's a good reason why people will describe a fast and efficient process as being comparable to the speed at which feces moves through a goose.

Estimates suggest a goose will poop several times an hour and up to 20 times a day.

So, a flock of 20 to 30 Canada geese can make a mess in a short period of time.

"You see people doing the Canada goose two-step around the park trails," Hicks said with a chuckle.

But the results of that prolific production is no laughing matter for Hicks and his parks employees.

Hicks said he's seen places where they counted five to 10 "little presents" per square foot of lawn.

The birds can make it impossible for people to enjoy urban green spaces, by fouling grassy areas with feces and by aggressive behaviour defending their nests and young.

The feces, if numerous enough and near water, can also cause E. coli contamination, leading to algal blooms and closures to swimming and other recreation.

Hicks said the city spends about $15,000 a year to purchase equipment to discourage geese from nesting where they're not wanted.

There's also a few days work setting up that equipment, and the hours spent monitoring how it's working.