The First Year

Parks and recreation areas in the program area and partner entities will experience a significant reduction in the numbers of geese and related conflict by Memorial Day with most geese gone by mid June. In September there may be an increased number of geese when the early geese hunting season begins in September, driving the resident geese from the rural areas into the cities.

The Next Years

After three years there will be a dramatic reduction in geese numbers in the program area during the nesting period. The juvenile geese (under three years old) who were born in the area before the program began will have found another place to nest because they will have learned that the area where they were born is not a good place to nest or molt. The geese who originally nested in the area will continue to do so, but will leave soon after nesting season ends (early May) and start on a molt migration by early June. After three years the site aversion component of the program can be reduced to cover only the period of early May to the first or second week in June. In some instances where feeding geese has totally stopped, the site aversion program may not be necessary at all or only needed just to remind the geese it’s time to get moving. The geese will have learned that the earlier they begin their molt migration the better it is for them since they know they cannot molt in the program area and in previous years they have found an alternative place to molt, possibly a great distance away.

Each year there may still be geese in the area if nests were missed. The presence of these few geese will be a positive addition to the natural areas. In the following year they too will join the molt migrant flocks.

Less Effort Each Year

As more and more communities/areas in implement an egg oiling program, the resident Canada geese population will be stabilized with a significant reduction in the numbers staying in the area during the spring, summer and fall as more and more of the resident geese will go on a molt migration because they do not have goslings keeping them in the program area.