or The Golfers and the Geese
My first encounter with the migrating water birds was in 1981 in Salisbury, Connecticut. In the northeastern corner of the state, we lived on the campus of an all-boys boarding school in a modest clapboard house on a dirt road, surrounded by manicured soccer fields and across from acres of farmed corn. In the autumn, after the harvest, herds of white-tailed deer would graze on the dregs of fallen corn. And at the bottom of the mile long dirt road was the lake upon which the students’ crew would row.
That first fall I went down to the lake, accompanied by our two dogs: the dignified Jason (of the Golden Fleece) a golden retriever-Irish setter mix, and the clownish Gus, a standard poodle-black lab mix. They would lope alongside, happily veering off into the dense wood to chase a scent or startle a deer and then return to my side, tongues lolling and wearing big grins!
As we neared the lake, the dogs would tense and point. The dock looked suspiciously like someone had epically failed to clean up after their dogs! Most of the campus faculty had a dog or two and I could not imagine them being culprits. Meanwhile, Jason and Gus had done graceful dives into the lake and were swimming out to the wooden float, which I noticed was also decorated with large droppings! Wha…? Then it dawned on me – geese! And oh, what a mess they made! In the boathouse, where the precious boats rested on wooden shelves, was a sturdy broom that the coaches would use to sweep the offending goose poop off the dock before the boys would carefully walk the shells down to the water. Goose poop is famously slippery!
The geese stopping grounds on the way south are littered with their nasty “calling cards” and even threatened our little lake with eutrophication. Fortunately, as winter became more severe, the geese continued further south and left our lake for warmer climes.
Fast forward to the present and Amelia Island, where our house is on the second fairway of the golf course, just next to a small “lake” or water hazard. During the mornings and at dusk, the edges of the lake are dotted with egrets, ibis, storks and the majestic blue heron. Cormorants stop here, too, and after fishing in the lake, rest with their wings spread to dry.
But mainly the lake is filled with upwards forty noisy and busy geese. Since our winters here are quite mild, these migrators have taken up residence and spend the whole year floating, honking, reproducing and challenging golfers who may have to fish out a ball occasionally. The HOA has spent many meetings discussing what can be done to encourage the geese to leave our small community. The greens keepers have even encouraged the workers to destroy any nests they find as they tend the course. But even that very cruel alternative has failed to send a message that the geese have worn out their welcome.
Golfers and the maintenance folks watch helplessly as the geese graze in packs, eating the expensive hybrid grass seed that has just been sown on the course. The Lake Doctor who maintains the various water hazards on the course, has a losing battle in trying to keep this man-made lake from eutrophication and from the chemical imbalance of so much goose poop. Then there is the lady a few doors down who drives over the line to Georgia to buy a particular brand of corn and seed mix especially formulated for geese and spends a part of each week feeding the unruly mob scrambling to her porch for her gourmet treat. The HOA has no idea how to approach this issue!
The golfers and club golf cart jockeys have the unwelcome task of cleaning gobs of goose poo from their spiked shoes and encrusted golf cart wheels. The stuff is thick on the ground, especially on the fairways where water hazards offer a stopping place for the geese.
Then a few weeks back I looked out the kitchen window and noticed the geese were packed tightly against the far eastern shore and seemed very distressed. Across the lake and up the slope stood a coyote! I got out the binoculars, wondering why this predator was out mid-morning and so brazenly staring down at the flock of frightened geese. Slowly it dawned on me that this creature was man-made and merely a decoy to keep the geese in check and perhaps move them out! The geese were clearly convinced that they needed to give this fierce looking animal a wide berth
Apparently, the club had invested in a number of these decoys to be placed variously around the course to discourage geese from roosting and taking up residence. The plan seemed to be working and day after day there were fewer geese on our pond; those who were braving the threat stayed well away from the side where wily coyote was planted. Then as the holidays approached something strange happened. With my binoculars I made out what was someone’s idea of keeping in the Christmas spirit. Our coyote was wearing felt deer antlers and a red nose! Really??!!
Well, since geese and deer live very well in proximity in the wild, soon “Rudolf” was no longer a threat, and the geese were happily grazing all around him. More and more geese joined our lake mob, and it was one big holiday celebration! The weather turned colder; the golfers were fewer, the flock of geese grew larger, noisier, and happier. And, as spring approaches, we are back to square one!
