Watson Park geese to be moved to Waihola

This gaggle of geese which has taken up residence at Watson Park (in the background) is set to be...
This gaggle of geese which has taken up residence at Watson Park (in the background) is set to be relocated to Lake Waihola. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
A gaggle of geese messing up a Port Chalmers sports field and annoying the locals has been given a reprieve.

The Dunedin City Council had considered culling the eight geese, but has instead settled on relocating them to Lake Waihola this week, weather permitting.

The relocation plan comes after a splinter group from the Back Beach population shifted to Watson Park.

The gaggle's habit of grazing across the park has damaged the playing fields and the large quantity of droppings they leave behind has prompted health concerns.

Concerns about droppings resulted in a junior rugby fixture having to be moved on Saturday because of the concentration of droppings.

Local ornithologist Derek Onley had recently criticised the relocation option for the fowl, saying geese competed with native birds and should instead be culled and eaten for Christmas dinner.

Parks operations manager Hamish Black said the issue caused by droppings on the sports field had come to a head with the start of the winter sports season and clubs had been forced to remove the droppings before games and training.

"I certainly appreciate their frustration with having to do that.''

The original plan had been to either move or cull the geese over the weekend of May 21 and 22, but the amount of rain meant it was not possible to finish the grain pre-feeding programme.

The pest control contractor had to make sure all the geese were feeding before they spiked the grain with sedatives so they could capture the large birds.

If they flew back, as some people expected, they would likely be culled.

There was no intention to relocate other geese in the wider area, which included the Back Beach population.

Mr Onley said relocating the Watson Park geese was merely shifting the problem.

"They compete with native birds and they bugger up the environment pretty badly wherever they are,'' Mr Onley said.

It was unlikely they would fly back and instead they would probably thrive at Lake Waihola and could move to the nearby Sinclair Wetlands.

The council should instead cull the birds, he said.

"I think they should eat them for Christmas dinner.''

The other option was to try shifting them back to Back Beach.

Taieri Blue under 12s player Ollie Smythe (12) said his team ended up playing against Harbour under 12s at Logan Park on Saturday after Watson Park remained covered in droppings despite the efforts of two men using shovels.

It was funny and frustrating at the same time having to move fields because of the droppings, Ollie said.

The geese and whether they should be culled has been the source of a lot of debate on social media, with some Port Chalmers residents posting recipes for cooking goose and others arguing in favour of moving them rather than culling.

vaughan.elder@odt.co.nz

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