Geese at Falls Township Community Park better beware. The municipality has hired a new vendor to rid as many as possible from the community’s largest public park.
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At their meeting Monday evening, the Falls Township Board of Supervisors voted to hire Yardley-based Geese Chasers of Southeastern PA for a year-long contract. The firm will be paid $1,386 per month, totaling $16,632 for the year.
The township announced the geese mitigation effort for 2022 is a 1 percent savings over 2021’s contract with Philadelphia-based Geese Police, which cost taxpayers $16,800, and a savings over use of a previous contractor who was paid $22,000 in 2020.
Falls Township Parks and Recreation Director Brian Andrews said the “all-encompassing program” will focus on clearing the nests of the geese.
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The township increased geese management efforts starting in 2015. Andrews said the efforts have dramatically decreased the number of geese at Falls Township Community Park.
The park presently has 20 to 30 resident geese, a steep drop from the 100 to 120 who previously spent most of their time at the park, Andrews said.
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Geese Chasers will focus their efforts on Falls Township Community’s Park’s lake, lake perimeter, marshes, creek, canal area, fields, and common ground.
The company will use two border collies twice daily over 10 weeks to chase geese away.
The firm also plans to visit the park daily to keep geese away during nesting season.
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The so-called “frequent harassment” is aimed at clearing resident geese from the park, officials said.
“The Canada goose population in your area is out of control and our maintenance program assures that the geese in the area know that your property is not a safe place for them,” the company wrote in its proposal. “Our program triggers the predatory response inherent in geese. Also, any migrating geese looking for a place to feed, roost or nest will move on when exposed to our methods.”
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Canada geese, which are commonly seen at the park, can be considered a nuisance and leave their droppings behind. The Canada goose was once decimated by hunting and loss of living environment. A successful effort to grow the population took place decades ago and they resettled in large numbers across the country. Canada geese prefer grass and tend to graze is areas with large open spaces and within sight of water to allow them room to escape predators, according to the Humane Society.
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