More About Canada Geese at the Lake

Today I searched to find more ways to deter the Canada geese from coming up on our beachfront. Then I learned more about them. 

Common Goose Problems: In parks and other open areas near water, large goose flocks denude lawns of vegetation and create an obnoxious mess with their droppings and feather litter. Goose droppings in heavy concentrations can over fertilize lawns, contribute to excessive algae growth in lakes that can result in fish kills, and potentially contaminate municipal water supplies. Geese have also been involved in a growing number of aircraft strikes at airports across the country, resulting in dangerous takeoff and landing conditions and costly repairs. The main problem is having all those goose droppings on your lawn! But Do Geese Really Harm Your Lake? Some researchers think they do and some think they don't. In any case the geese probably are certainly contributing nutrients that help fuel excessive growths of algae and macrophytes. The scoop on goose poop: The average Canada goose dropping has a dry weight of 1.2 g (~ 0.04 ounces) Average droppings per day ~ 82 g/day (dry weight), that's 2.6 ounces/day (about 1/3 cup) Each dropping contains 76 % carbon, 4.4 % nitrogen, and 1.3 % phosphorus Geese can defecate as many as 92 times a day (numbers reported range from 28-92) What goes into a goose generally comes from within the watershed and what comes out also stays in the watershed (at least for resident Giant Canada geese Source

And, if you ever stepped on a goose dropping you would soon learn that is as nasty as stepping on a dog poop- especially if you are wearing grooved sneakers!