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In citing other reasons for their capture and gassing of 368 Canada geese and goslings from Prospect Park in 2010, USDA Wildlife Services implies that the geese were pushing out ducks and other waterfowl from the watercourses:
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(From the document: "Wildlife Services is working with the Prospect Park Alliance to manage the park for mutual wildlife benefits. Canada geese....had damaged the wetlands to the point native ducks rarely used the park anymore." [Emphasis supplied.])
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But, a walk through Central Park virtually any time of the year would show the exact opposite (or, as yours truly usually puts it) -- Where you find Canada geese, you usually find other water birds.
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At no time would that be truer than it is today.
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As photos posted the other day show, Harlem Meer in Central Park is currently devoid of all geese and virtually all other waterfowl.
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Geese have been habitually harassed from the Meer (in addition to other CP watercourses) and it appears to have impacted other water birds, as well. One is hard pressed to find mallards in any significant number around the Meer these days or quite frankly, any other water bird, except perhaps for the occasionally straying egret or heron.
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By contrast, the Jackie Onassis Reservoir in Central Park -- the one watercourse the geese are not harassed -- is replete with both geese and other water birds.
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Walk around the Reservoir any morning and one is apt to see dozens of Cormorants, Egrets, Black Crowned Night Herons, Sea Gulls and any number of different types of ducks, most commonly, Mallards. -- Those in addition to the 21 geese currently at the Reservoir.
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So who exactly, are the geese chasing or pushing out?
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There can be any number of reasons why certain bird species numbers rise and fall according to the time of year, weather conditions, environment, food supplies, human activities and other factors.
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But, to blame and scapegoat Canada geese for declines in some natural duck populations appears to be grasping at straws -- or in the particular case of the USDA document linked above, seeking rationalization for their goose massacre at Prospect Park in 2010. (It is well known that PP is outside the legal 7-mile radius to airports that were supposed to justify the slaughters.)
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I cannot speak personally for Prospect Park (which currently has zero geese), but it would be interesting to know, since having eradicated seemingly all its resident geese, if Prospect Park has suddenly become some kind of exotic water bird magnet?
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One thing that IS known is that when I personally visited Prospect Park in June of 2010 (one week prior to the USDA goose gassings), there were many geese, swans AND mallards (contrary to what the document claims). The park at that time was, in fact, replete with all kinds of waterfowl.
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The question is, is it so today?
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There are presently two families of mute swans at Prospect Park. But, the swans have been at the park for many years (including when geese were there) and in recent days the Department of Environmental Conservation has expressed similar hostility towards swans as is already against geese. In fact, the plan was to extirpate all mute swans in the state of New York -- though that proposal (thankfully) was recently defeated in the state legislature.
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Bottom line: The birds pushed from our parks are primarily being harassed and chased out by human hands -- not goose wings.
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USDA WS will need to come up with better excuses and rationalizations for their continuing goose carnage. What is cited particularly above is an untruth -- one of many by USDA Wildlife (Extermination) Services meant to justify what they do for a living. -- PCA
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