Geese Losing Northgate Park Home

Canada geese have become such a problem at that the city is getting professional help.

explained at Monday's city council meeting that the goose droppings have become a serious problem at the park.

"It's getting quite disgusting," Corrao said of the copious goose droppings at the park.

Three- and four-year-old children playing soccer in the fields at the park there often sit on the ground, she said, and usually end up sitting on goose droppings.

And, to make matters worse, someone is feeding the geese, she said. Bread has been found near where the geese nest. Geese who get used to being fed can later attack people because they associate people with getting food.

Corrao consulted with the Ohio Department of Health on the matter, and told council the best solution would be to hire a company that would use border collies and remote-control boats to harass the geese to the point where they leave.

While several Canda geese in the park have goslings that are still unable to fly, Carrao said she hopes to make a dent by scaring off those who don't have goslings. The dogs and boats would be brought back in the fall to scare off the rest, she said.

While Ward 2 councilman Dennis McBride joked with Corrao that some local hunters would gladly help solve the problem, that's not an option, Corrao said. Canada geese are protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Act of 1918, she explained, and hunting of the geese is severely restricted by the state of Ohio.