Gail Forbes has a thing for Canada geese.
The Coquitlam woman volunteers for the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC and fostered eight goslings while at WRA's facility, so when a large number of the iconic creatures disappeared from Como Lake Park in recent days, she was worried.
“Every week, there’s a few more geese missing,” Forbes told The Tri-City News. “People like to come to the park and see the goslings.”
Forbes was so worried that something untoward occurred to about 50 Canada geese that had apparently disappeared, she contacted The Tri-City News with her concerns.
It’s probably a mystery that also has other regular park-goers scratching their heads.
But there’s a good reason for the missing geese according to city of Coquitlam's parks manager, Kathleen Reimer.
According to Reinheimer, the geese have been relocated to upper Pitt Lake as part of wildlife management program that also includes installing temporary fencing to make it difficult for the geese to get access to water at Como Lake, a primary attractant for the large birds, and placing more shrubs between the grassy areas and the lake.
“We just don’t want it to be the summer resort of choice,” Reinheimer said. “We want to make it less attractive for them to stay here.”
Exact numbers haven’t been tabulated but it’s believed about 50 geese were relocated, with just nine remaining.
Reducing the geese population is important to maintain the environmental balance between native species, such as ducks, and other birds, Reinheimer said. She also noted goose droppings raise the fecal coliform count in the lake, which is also a problem.
As well, the birds are sometimes aggressive while protecting their young and they damage the grass, she said.
The problem is non-resident birds keep showing up for moulting season, a brief period that takes place around the month of June, and then staying on, prompting the city to begin a program to reduce the bird population.
Reinheimer said the contractor relocating the birds is licensed and adheres to rules under the federal Migratory Bird Conventions Act and the geese aren’t harmed in transport. In fact, she said, they are easy to catch during moulting season because they can’t fly.
“They’re released and not harmed at all,” Reinheimer said.
But for Forbes, who misses the geese and worries that adults may have been separated from their goslings, the city’s actions were too quick, too thorough and the public wasn’t informed.
“Why don’t they put signs up? Why don’t they tell people and be more up-front?” Forbes asked.
• More information about wildlife management is at www.coquitlam.ca
