By Gerry Dixon -Lake Management Committee

A successful Canada Geese control program is an essential part of lake management. Data collected over the last five years with the reduction of the geese population and lower bacteria at the beaches, suggest that our program is successful. The population if uncontrolled could become epidemic. Geese mate for life and return each year to the same location to nest. Their lifespan can be up to thirty years and the offspring return to the same location each year. Two geese typically have six eggs per year and the babies have six eggs for up to twenty years. If uncontrolled the rate of population growth in 4 years is thirty-six geese, in 8 years 1,296 geese, in 12 years 1,679,616 geese, and in 16 years, 2.8 trillion geese.

Each goose can consume up to four pounds of grass per day, creating about two pounds of fecal matter daily. During June and July, they lose their flight feathers, and during this time each goose produces 122 pounds of feces, in 16 years at the rate of population, 341trillion pounds of droppings can end up in our lake. This obviously not realistic, but it does show the impact on a community. According to Ohio Geese Control, “These droppings can be a health risk and can carry Salmonella spp., E. coli, and Listeria spp. And large flocks of geese can alter the ecology of your pond and create algae problems.”

Good news: there are natural enemies that control the geese population. Bad news: these natural enemies are not normally found in our lakefront community. Therefore, a geese control program is needed in our community. Roaming Shores has successfully reduced the population through implementation of Ohio Revised Code section 1531.02. in partnership with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

The aim of the Lake Management Committee is to observe, preserve, and correct any lake problems. The geese control program is part of the Lake Management Committee objective to decrease the amount of nutrients and bacteria entering our lake. Previously, when this program was first implemented up to thirty nests were seen. Last year 13 nests were invalidated.

With the help of all lake owners, the Rome Rock Association is tracking all observed nests and recording actions taken. Please call the association at (440) 563-3170 or email the association at IT@roamingshores.org if you see any Canada geese nests. Please be informed, it is a federal crime to injure, move, or harm without the permission of the Division of Wildlife any bird or nest.

Help us to be Lake Responsible.

To maintain a safe environment and ensure our lake is safe for all members, please inform the association via email or calling 440-563-3170 of any nesting birds. In this manner, we can deter the proliferation of Canada Geese from Lake Roaming Rock. The population of geese if maintained through the Ohio Natural Resource Goose Damage Permitting System, works to keep the overpopulation from occurring.

The Ohio Natural Resources (ONR) writes, “Most people will welcome and start feeding the first pair of geese on their pond, but these geese will soon wear out their welcome. In just a few years, a pair of geese can easily become 50 to 100 birds. The feces will foul the areas around the pond and surrounding yards and damage the lawn, pond and other vegetation. Geese that are fed will lose their fear of humans and attack adults, children, and pets during the nesting season (March through June). DO NOT FEED GEESE. Feeding bread, corn, potato chips, popcorn and other human food items harms the geese and sets the scene for goose attacks on people.”

Ohio State University also writes “Degraded Water Quality – Large accumulations of feces near water can degrade water quality as rain wash the material into the water. Goose feces are high in phosphorus and nitrogen, nutrients that in excess can cause nuisance blooms of algae and aquatic plants in ponds and lakes. An excess of algae and submerged plants can lead to oxygen depletion at night due to plant respiration and can cause a fish kill.

In addition, goose feces can contain a variety of pathogens such as Giardia and Coliform bacteria, which can cause illness in humans. Large numbers of geese can elevate concentrations of these pathogens in pond and lake water, and accidental ingestion of such water can cause illness”.

With your help and ONR, we have used the Goose Damage Permitting System method for the past years and have found it works. Reductions in population, nest counts, and returning migrations are examples we realized. I encourage all our residents to continue with this effort and their notifications are important to our overall effort to keep our lake safe and healthy!

Gerry Dixon
Lake Management Committee

By Richard D. Gainar, CEBS – Lake Management Committee

The Canada Goose goslings began hatching out around May 1^st.  We did a pretty good job neutralizing the goose nests that were located earlier thanks to your support and reports we received from concerned residents.  Now and through June is the time to be vigilant in watching for goslings and begin harassing them the day they show up.

According to Geoffery Westerfield of the ODNR, harassing the goslings is very important for limiting the number of resident geese on our lake during the rest of the year.  Separating the goslings from their parents even for a short time is an effective form of harassment.  Geoffery advises that whenever you can, try to separate goslings from the adult geese by stepping between them shooing the goslings away from the adults by waving your arms and making loud noises (do not make contact).  “Don’t stop anywhere short of the geese leaving your property”, says Geoffery.  Keep up the consistent and persistent harassment. Your goal is to send the message to the adult geese that your property is not a safe place to raise their young and to the goslings that Lake Roaming Rock can be a scary place.

June 1^st is an important date.  Geese will begin to molt (i.e. lose their flight feathers) around June 1^st.  If you don’t harass them off the property by that date, it becomes very difficult to remove them and you will likely be stuck with the geese till mid-July.

Geese excrement is a contributor to the E. coli levels in our lake.  In addition, it provides excess nutrients that feed the algae and weeds.  We love our geese, but a few less wouldn’t hurt either. 

Thanks for being lake responsible!

By Richard D. Gainar, CEBS – Lake Management Committee

Did you ever wonder how the geese that are congregating on our beaches and in your backyard are affecting the ecology of our lake?  Considering each goose can produce 1 to 2 pounds of droppings each day, and a typical Canada Goose may poop 28 times a day, it doesn’t look good for homeowners – or our lake.  These droppings contribute to excess nutrients and bacteria in our lake which encourage nuisance weeds and harmful algae.

In January and February migratory geese are moving through our area with some of the breeding age geese breaking away from the flocks in early preparation of the nesting season.  These geese begin to pair up and separate themselves from the migratory flock.  By April we will see them select nesting sites typically found near the lake within direct sight of the water.  To limit geese production your Lake Management Committee notes these nest sites for a timely visit by ODNR-licensed individuals to addle the eggs.  Addling is a humane process to prevent eggs from hatching while encouraging geese to continue incubating their eggs and not renesting.  If eggs or nest are removed before the goose has satisfied the nesting instinct, it will simply build another nest and lay additional eggs.

Egg addling (through shaking, oiling or puncturing eggs) and nest removal are effective tools for reducing reproduction of Canada Geese in urban areas.  Association residents that discover goose nests on their properties or nearby recreational areas could report the sites to the RRA Office (440-563-3170) ot email to arrange for egg addling.

You will be hearing much more about geese conflict management and damage prevention strategies from your Lake Management Committee this summer including some techniques to help keep them moving along out of our area. 

Love our lake and be lake responsible.

By Richard D. Gainar, CEBS – Lake Management Committee

 Canada Geese are a valuable natural resource that provides recreation and enjoyment to bird watchers, hunters, and the public. But in recent years, flocks of local-nesting or “resident” geese have become year-round inhabitants of our recreational areas, waterways, and residential areas, where they can cause significant problems. You may have noticed our efforts throughout the year to harass and detour geese from our lake by using pyrotechnics (i.e. firecrackers, sirens, etc.) at dawn and dusk when geese gather on the lake.  

In January and February migratory geese are moving through our area with some of the breeding age geese breaking away from the flocks in early preparation of the nesting season.  These geese begin to pair up and separate themselves from the migratory flock.  By March resident geese are paired and begin to set up nesting territories laying their eggs in early April and incubating the eggs late in the month.  

Canada Geese deposit their feces anywhere the urge hits them.  They too often like the same areas we do – swimming beaches, lawns, docks, and boat launches.  During the day, a goose drops one pound of dung.  In addition to contributing to E. coli levels in the lake, geese are also major contributors of phosphorus and nitrogen in lakes and waterways that encourage algae and weeds to grow rapidly.  

Your Lake Management Committee thanks you for your efforts last year reporting nesting sites and harassing geese to move them along.  You’ve made a noticeable contribution to benefit our lake community.  Please continue to call the RRA Office at (440)563-3170 to report an unwanted goose nest on your property.

Love our lake and be lake responsible.