One Canada goose eats up to 4 pounds of grass a day.
And dumps 3 pounds of fecal matter, also daily.
Multiply that by our very large and active population of geese. That’s a lot of grass chewed up on Compo Beach, the Longshore golf course, and athletic fields.
A lot of geese poop too.
(Photo copyright/DinkinESH Fotografix)
But we don’t have to take all that lying down.
Enter … The Goosinator!
A low-tech, low-cost solution to an insistent, if not high-priority, problem, our 2 machines are already in use — with dramatic effect.
A Goosinator is a remote-controlled device that mimics a bird’s predators. Seeing it gooses geese to fly away.
Geese don’t like the Goosinator’s shape, look or color.
And — because geese are not as dumb as they look — the Goosinator imprints itself on their goose brains. Soon, just seeing the device’s vehicle sends them skedaddling.
The Goosinator came to town through Erik Barbieri. Westport’s new Parks & Recreation Department had used the tool effectively in New Britain, his previous post.
Westport was using actual, live dogs to scare the geese. The owners were “great,” Barbieri says. But the Goosinator is more effective.
And cheaper.
Seeing the Goosinator (far right), and preparing to flee.
(Connecticut allows the “termination” — aka “killing” — of a certain number of geese. But, Barbieri notes, “the optics are not good.”)
Westport’s head Goosinator is Rick Giunta. Recently retired after a long career with Parks & Rec, the Westport native now spends several early mornings a week goosinating. (That’s a goose’s favorite time to eat and poop.)
Hopefully, he’ll put himself out of a regular job. According to the Goosinator website, geese eventually get the message. Regular goosinations turn into less frequent forays.
Rick Giunta at Compo Beach, with his remote-controlled Goosinator.
An added benefit: Geese who go elsewhere lay their eggs elsewhere too.
Westport’s 2 Goosinators are used now at Compo Beach, and on athletic fields (another favorite goose territory). One may be deployed on the Longshore golf course, after the season.
Barbiieri may purchase a third Goosinator, too.
See ya! (Compo Beach photos/Carmen Roda)
“No one can argue that geese droppings aren’t an issue,” Giunta says
“But the Goosinator doesn’t harm them. It just relocates them.”
Unfortuately, Barbieri notes, Canada geese no longer fly south for the winter. They stay here — eating grass, then fouling our land.
Of course, those goosinated geese have to go somewhere. That may be another town, or private property. They prefer being near water, so they can escape predators.
“My job is to protect our parks, our facilities and their users,” Barbieri explains. “We’re trying to provide a service, in the right, humane way.”
Now, if we can only find a Deerinator …
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