Previous Research

Despite their ubiquitous presence, professional research regarding Canada geese which pertains specifically to Long Island is scarce. Most studies that have taken place in New York either focus on areas located in upstate New York, or utilize the entire state of New York as the research site. Much of what has been documented about Canada geese on Long Island is encompassed in population surveys from citizen science projects and activities done as part of management strategies. In June of 2006, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Wildlife Services worked with multiple agencies to place neck collars on 300 Canada geese (Seamans, Scott, Allen, & Gosser, 2009). The geese were collared at sites which were within approximately 5.6 miles of John F. Kennedy Airport and LaGuardia Airports (Figure 1) (Seamans et al., 2009). Their intention was to examine the traveling range of Canada geese near airports (Seamans et al., 2009). Collared geese were observed in the area for two years and analysis of their work led the researchers to discover that almost half of the geese that were collared subsisted in a territory that was no larger than 5 miles (Seamans et al., 2009). They concluded that their collective findings indicated an approximate three mile territory range for geese on western Long Island (Seamans et al., 2009). According to Laura Francoeur, Chief Wildlife Biologist for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the normal wildlife control operations for John F. Kennedy Airport and LaGuardia Airport include six surveys per month of Canada geese on and off airport property. She explained that surveys done outside of airport property are done by the USDA, while survey efforts on airport property are handled by the Port Authority. She added that the purpose of the surveys is to monitor geese population size around the airport to gauge the effectiveness of current management strategies and to plan for strategy adjustments.

Figure 1. The locations where the neck collars were placed on the geese, from “Observations of neck-collared Canada geese near John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York” (Seamans et al., 2009) (Reprinted with permission)

Kelly Hamilton, a Waterfowl Biologist for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) explained that in following the directives of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), each year the NYSDEC places neck collars on Canada geese when they are molting. She stated that at least 200 birds are collared during the months of June and July, and the locations where the collaring takes place are spread out across Long Island. Ms. Hamilton added that collar numbers from hunter harvests are reported to the USGS Bird Banding Lab and the data are sent back to the USFWS.

A Canada goose wearing a neck collar Credit: Helena Jacoba

Birdwatchers often keep a list of birds that they observe each day. In 2002, the National Audubon Society and Cornell Cooperative Extension collaborated to create an online cataloging system for bird sightings called eBird (eBird, n.d). Millions of observations are entered into eBird every year, making it a reliable source of data on bird population sizes and species diversity (eBird, n.d). According to John Sepenoski, a GIS Technician for the Town of Southold, the town of Southold relies on eBird data to generate lists of local bird species for nature preserves in the area as well to keep track of where certain species of birds are located. The list of data for Canada geese on Long Island in eBird is substantial and includes observations from prior to 2002 due to contributions of those who entered sightings from older bird lists (eBird, n.d).

The Christmas Bird Count originated in 1900 after an ornithologist named Frank M. Chapman suggested that birds which were traditionally hunted during Christmas time should be counted instead (National Audubon Society, n.d). His suggestion to conduct a population survey of the birds was done in the name of conservation which was becoming of popular interest at the time (National Audubon Society, n.d). Today the count is done between December 14th and January 5th of each year (National Audubon Society, n.d). Each count occurs over the span of one day within specific locations designated by the National Audubon Society (National Audubon Society, n.d). Birdwatchers search for birds as part of an organized group within a 15 mile diameter circle (National Audubon Society, n.d). During the 2014 Christmas Bird Count there were 11 circles on Long Island with a total of 45,188 Canada geese observed (National Audubon Society, 2010)

According to a 2006 New York Post article, the NYSDEC planned to test several species of birds on Long Island for the avian influenza virus, including Canada geese (Moran, 2006).