Gathering Geese
Matthew Nilsson, 12, of Butler Township was hunting in the southern part of the state when he shot his first Canada goose late last year.
The first-year hunter's goose had a metal band on its foot that he and his father reported to a toll-free number. He was sent a certificate that told him his goose was banded in Pymatuning State Park.
It's interesting information to Nilsson, but more important to the Bird Banding Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and the state Game Commission.
Kevin Jacobs, a biologist with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, gets reports each week on geese harvested in the Northwest Region, which includes the 10 counties from Erie to Butler and Ohio to Clarion. That information he and the Game Commission have used to determine goose hunting limits and track migration.
To band more geese, volunteers and Game Commission employees gathered at 6:30 a.m. Thursday in a Prospect parking lot to make a game plan.
The dozen people in boots and hip waders finished work in Venango County less than 12 hours before, and some drove in from Meadville to start Thursday's work in Butler County.Matthew Nilsson and his father, Erik, are in the group, still sleepy eyed.The pair have volunteered for the past three years."It was fun. Really, really fun,"Matthew Nilsson said of his first banding experience. The first year, he was afraid of the hissing birds that challenge anyone who gets in their way by sticking their neck out and raising their wings.But, he's not scared now.And he especially likes corralling the geese into a pen.The group schedules six stops at ponds where scouts have said flocks of Canadian geese stay. The first stop is at a private pond in Connoquenessing Township near Boy Scout Road.With decisions made about who will get in kayaks to scare the geese to land, the caravan of goose banders started down the road. When the geese got to land, the kayakers drove them toward a circle of people holding four 4-by-10-foot panels. The metal framed panels are covered with netting and pin together to make a pen."Squawk," someone shouted. Another person hissed. A third person clapped. The 30 geese gathered into a group for protection.On cue, everyone walked together quickly.Metal banding is done this time of year because while the geese are molting, they are flightless. Well, most of them.A number of the bigger birds take flight over the people's heads, and only 11 geese are in the pen when the commotion is over.It's disappointing, but that's 11 more to mark.There's a kind of triage to the order of banding geese: First are geese that already have bands. The band gets maintenance if needed and then the numbers are recorded. Second are goslings. Third are the remaining adult geese.Chuck Thoma, biologist with the Game Commission, slid into the pen and picked up the goose. He flipped it over and pinned it between his knees. He looked at the goose to determine its sex. Once he's determined the goose is male, he handed it over to Erik Nilsson or anyone else waiting on the outside.Jacobs and volunteer Jack Schnitzer each held a strings of metal bands and pliers. One will band the males and one the females.Roger Coup, another biologist with the Game Commission, is recording the numbers on the bands onto paper worksheets.
The trick to carrying a Canada goose is to hold it at the base of the wings.The trick to holding it is to pin the goose between the knees.And the trick to avoiding the messes a goose makes is anyone's guess.At the third stop of the day, volunteer Alex Pacoe, 8, of Butler Township finds out what a goose does when it gets scared. But, he said he still is having fun.After he carried his male gosling to get banded, he set it free and watched it run toward the pond and other banded geese."That's mine,"he said and as he pointed with obvious pride.Alex and his older brother, D.J., are some of the half-dozen volunteers who showed up to help."Volunteers help get our job done," Jacobs said. It also gives the public an education about the Game Commission's operations, he said."It educates the public about our mission and help them understand more about the bird other than hunting it," he said.With the information collected, the Game Commission and federal government will determine the harvest rate, survival rate, harvest distribution and migration of the flock, Jacobs said.Hunting causes 90 percent of adult mortality in adult geese. Left to live a natural life, a goose can reach the ripe old age of 25.Many people think that Canada goose population is getting too big, so Jacobs said the information from bands have been used to lengthen the goose season and increase the bag limits.Coup said the Game Commission used to move nuisance geese, but now there's nowhere to move the geese to. So, the Game Commission will loan noise cannons to property owners or teach about egg addling — oiling the eggs so they don't hatch.The second stop at a Forward Township turf farm is more successful, banding more than 40 geese.Stop number three at a pond behind a Brownsdale business gets another 40.During the molting season, the group will band 200 to 500 geese in the regions. Statewide about 8,000 geese will be banded, Jacobs said.Those who call in banded geese get a certificate saying where, when and by whom the goose was banded.Geese banded in Pennsylvania have been found in 26 states. But, Jacobs said, 96 percent of the geese banded in Pennsylvania stay in the state.By 11 a.m. the group has been at work for four hours and it was time for a break. The caravan pulled into a convenience store for snacks and a chance to lean against the trucks and relax."It's a great day to be outside, spending time with (my son),"Erik Nilsson said.
