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Canadian City Uses Drone To Chase Off Geese
LeadSongDog writes "The Ottawa Citizen reports on an enterprising private contractor who has been hired by a city government in Canada to drive geese off its island beaches using a small, remote-controlled drone. 'It’s proving amazingly effective, said Orléans Coun. Bob Monette. The place used to be haunted by as many as 140 geese, which can eat several pounds of grass in a day and poop out nearly as much in waste. “Now we’re down to anywhere from 15 to 20 on a daily basis,” Monette said. The weapon the city’s deployed is a “hexcopter,” a remote-controlled chopper with rotors that can hover, soar, circle and — most importantly — scoot along just above the ground, scaring the bejesus out of dozing geese. It’s operated by contractor Steve Wambolt, a former IT worker who launched his own business after one too many layoffs. “When he takes it out, they put their backs up straight and they’re watching,” Monette said. “When he starts it and it goes up off the ground, they sort of walk into a formation, and as soon as it starts moving, they all take off and they don’t come back until the next day.”'"
Another example of government tyranny.
Knowledge = Power
P= W/t
t=Money
Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
seems like this might not be very well thought out...
What the article doesn't mention is the Nazi fighter plane that Mr. Wambolt was using the geese to bring down.
I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne...
Everything is better with chainsaws.
They are Canadian Geese so the Constitution doens't apply
Well, it's evidence of some pretty stellar illiteracy on your behalf.
Stupid Amerninicians.
Geese are pretty smart.
Geese are pretty big. They can take down a commercial airliner.
Hexacopters are small, fragile and expensive. They can't make more hexacopters by themselves.
I predict MORE geese poop in Canada.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
just pretend he said canadian charter or rights and freedoms
thank goodness its a private contractor or the government likely would have invested millions into research and invented some sort of stealthed beach mobile to do the task
Can we use geese to chase off drones?
I had a pet conure and one on my friends brought over one of those $30 micro copters, and let me tell you I have never any pet hate anything so much as he hated that. Not sure if it applies to geese, but these will sure scare off smaller birds.
this isn't affecting the migration just dispersing the floc from a beach/park there is no shortage of available space on the river or bay for them to move on too, they just hang out there because people leave stuff for them to eat, if anything this is beneficial to the birds also to keep them a little further away from the public
just a radio controlled aircraft
These comments are my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the other voices in my head.
I'm sensing a lot of people use the word 'drone' where 'R/C Plane', a decades-old technology, is more appropriate, simply because it sounds cooler. Is the a technical dividing line between the two?
.
Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
This is the proper response to geese: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xqbv_wa-ns.
Are there any Western records of mice that act like this?
http://englishrussia.com/2013/08/19/strange-creature-no-the-mouse-line/
Is a model plane now a drone? What about a paper airplane? Is an RC car a "land drone"? If I have a Capsela model in the bathtub with me, did I create a "water drone"?
It's a tsunami of hyperbole.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
Agreed we both know that a stealthed solution wouldn't be ideal but bear in mind I was suggesting the path i think our government would have taken. Not what i believed the most reasonable course of action is, those two things rarely line up
I don't know how many of the geese get up to Alaska, but huge sections of Canada become essentially overrun with Geese.
Managing where they go can be a huge problem and a nuisance.
I worked at a building once where the geese would nest in the medians in the parking lot. They'd routinely attack people going to and from their cars. I've seen huge sections of parks which are essentially covered in green goose-shit and which are unusable (and which can also be a health hazard).
We do respect the migration, and as migratory birds they are protected -- but that doesn't mean that every damned place that literally hundreds (or thousands, or 10's of thousands) of geese move into can be left to have them take over.
Sometimes, the sheer scale of the mess which can be caused by these things means you need to find ways to convince them to find another place to be.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
You won't think Canada Geese are so much of a goddamned treasure when you live in an area where they stay year-round, grow to flocks of hundreds, poison every waterway in sight, and leave a carpet of goose-shit everywhere. They're a fucking nuisance in a LOT of places, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act desperately needs to be amended to make it legal to kill the fucking things. They have WAY overpopulated in large portions of North America.
The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
Oddly the city of Ottawa, as a higher human population than the entire state of Alaska.
Is it just me, or are we starting to use "drone" for pretty much anything that doesn't have a pilot actually sitting in it today?
AFAIK, "drone" is really an autonomous vehicle that for at least SOME of its flight time, it's not directly under pilot control.
I mean, it sure SOUNDS a lot cooler to say they use a "drone" than "a big radio control plane".
-Styopa
Sounds like it's not effective enough. Get some dogs. Better yet, remove Canadian Geese from the protected species list. I'd love to hunt these things (they're so unafraid of humans now that you could whack them with a club).
Canadian Geese are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1918. Unless there has been some specific exemption granted, this may be a treaty violation (usually, a misdemeaner).
http://www.taftlaw.com/news/publications/detail/610-the-migratory-bird-treaty-act-what-can-businesses-do-about-federally-protected-canada-geese
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migratory_Bird_Treaty_Act_of_1918
Oh man, there must be a video link of this somewhere. Anyone willing to find one? All I found was this one about scaring one goose off a roof from the PoV of the copter but I want to see a 3rd-person view of the drone scuttling on the ground and scaring them off...
While amusing in this case, this treaty would likely not apply.
The statute in the treaty makes it unlawful without a waiver to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill or sell birds listed therein ("migratory birds"). This includes the Canadian Goose. Piloting a drone into the middle of a stationary flock of geese constitutes none of these things. If the drone operator actually followed the birds, then yes, that would be "pursuing", but simply scaring the birds by flying into the midst of them as they are eating and pooping and doing other bird things wouldn't break the treaty, as far as I can tell.
I used to live on a lake that had a permanent population of 60-80 Canda geese. Those bad boys were afraid of nothing and would hiss at you just for lookin' at 'em the wrong way. There was only one thing they couldn't tolerate: a dog. I'd see a bunch of 'em take off in a hurry for what looked like no good reason, then a minute later here'd come a dog, trotting along, minding his own business.
Screw R/C planes. The best and probably cheapest way to get rid of geese is to get a Jack Russell terrier and let it start "herding" them. Two weeks, three tops, and those geese will be gone forever. He'll work for food and keep you warm at night.
The only place in Alaska that geese stay year-round is near Juneau, as far as I know. But in places where they do stay year-round, like further down the coast, they can be a real pain. Their year-round residency is because of human habitat modification, making open green lawns that are highly appealing to them. They should be migrating but, like hummingbirds, decide to stay all year because of the easy food.
No the problem is that we humans have killed off all their natural predators and don't have the balls to man-up and replace them. We have the same problem with deer in the area. People have stopped hunting deer, we've killed off all the wolves (because we tend not to like the idea of them attacking our kids and pets and shit)--and so they overpopulated and start becoming a nuisance.
The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
Decent people shouldn't have to put up with that natural world shit.
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
Oh come on, thats totally a wild geese chase, they just try to hide the real purpose of those drones...
Then you go out and shoot wolves from helicopters.
even the dogs are displace by technology
http://www.snegeese.com/
http://hardeybordercollies.com/id2.html
just a few
Do you have any idea how many millions of square miles in the US (much less Canada) are untouched by humans? Well over 90% of the US is undeveloped land. No, the geese aren't going to the "few locations untouched by humans", they're flocking to locations occupied by humans because humans chase away their predators and keep climate variations (especially during winter) to a minimum, to the point where many geese are no longer even bothering to migrate. Chasing them away from human habitations would do more to restore their natural patterns than to disrupt them.
Plus, geese are vicious bastards who'll attack and chase animals much much larger than themselves. And they poop like crazy.
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
I used to work for a company that tried to market a tool to keep animals off the highway. But testing revealed that wild animals can become used to almost any stimulus over time. So the tool will work great for a while, then eventually fail. Drones are the same. Eventually the geese will learn not to fear the drone, and then they will happily munch away while it buzzes them. So this is a short term solution at best.
These things are a menace. I lived in Colorado and they would routinely plant themselves into our apartment complex public space, making it unusable for long stretches of winter.
If *you* think it's unusable now, how do you think the Geese feel about an apartment complex taking over *their* public space?
If you were stupid enough to wander into the park area, a host of them would waddle up to you and attack, and they left a huge amount of green goose crap all over the place. If I had thought of using one of those little toy helicopters at the time to scare em off, I would have.
I think the problem with the drone plan is that just like how the Geese got used to humans in your apartment complex and now show no fear of them, they'll eventually get used to the drones unless the drones start attacking and killing them.
just pretend he said canadian charter or rights and freedoms
thank goodness its a private contractor or the government likely would have invested millions into research and invented some sort of stealthed beach mobile to do the task
For some reason, when I read this the first image that popped into my head was a Canuck with his hockey stick hiding inside a giant, camouflage beach ball...
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
I can assure you Ottawa is not taking away habitat or nesting space from the geese... fuckers attack me every morning on my morning commute by bicycle as they've laid claim to the bike paths, and I pass several beaches (that are not open to the public for swimming) that are inundated with them.
Perhaps if humans hadn't encroached on their natural habitat they wouldn't be such a nuisance.
I'm going to just call you a damned idiot. The reason why we have so many canadian geese now is because the government back in the 70's instituted programs to reduce hunting and protect them. It's the same reason why you find deer in suburban areas, where the areas haven't expanded, and the population in the wild has exploded so much that they're starving to death due to a lack of predators. A very fine example of over populations of deer in the US: Michigan, and Ohio.
Up here in Canadaland, we have an assload of wetland areas. There are three in my area where the geese stay all winter, they never used to. They stay because the provincial government got this brilliant idea to feed the damned things all winter long. Carpet of goose shit indeed, we don't use drones here, we use starter pistols and blanks in shotguns and rifles to scare them away.
Om, nomnomnom...
These things are a menace. I lived in Colorado and they would routinely plant themselves into our apartment complex public space, making it unusable for long stretches of winter.
If *you* think it's unusable now, how do you think the Geese feel about an apartment complex taking over *their* public space?
If you were stupid enough to wander into the park area, a host of them would waddle up to you and attack, and they left a huge amount of green goose crap all over the place. If I had thought of using one of those little toy helicopters at the time to scare em off, I would have.
I think the problem with the drone plan is that just like how the Geese got used to humans in your apartment complex and now show no fear of them, they'll eventually get used to the drones unless the drones start attacking and killing them.
Actually, they probably won't. The reason for this is that the drone is using a standard bird of prey flight attack vector. This should also be fairly successful against seagulls and pigeons (although due to the lack of flocking of those two birds, others will quickly return to take the place of those who left).
and WEAPON interchangeably.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
, we use starter pistols and blanks in shotguns and rifles to scare them away.
which would cost more the drone. plus more waste, and inefficiencies.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
These things are a menace. I lived in Colorado and they would routinely plant themselves into our apartment complex public space, making it unusable for long stretches of winter.
If *you* think it's unusable now, how do you think the Geese feel about an apartment complex taking over *their* public space?
.
Actually the geese were not there before the apartment complex was built, building code in many areas requires a retaining pond for the down spout water to collect and naturally be absorbed into the ground. Geese love these ponds and will nest all around them.
Canada Geese have a large range (including Canada) and may have the country as a namesake, but should not be called Canadian Geese - unless they live there I guess.
You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever.
****the problem is that we humans have killed off all their natural predators***
Stop right there my friend, that is the problem everything else stems from this problem, one caused by the aforementioned unimaginably stupid humans. See? we do agree!
Only I can judge you.
As regards their poop, it is not malicious, I believe that birds have no anal sphincter muscle. This makes sense when viewed from a biological perspective as a flying animal has zero need to store feces. Even less than a non-flying one.
The problem with the touched land is that humans will invariably (like other species) flock to (no pun intended) the prime land. The land with water, relatively more sheltered and temperate, for the region. Where there is game, maybe even including the innocent and evil geese. So we go and start taking their habitat, build up our cities, and the animals who were there all along are now encroaching on "our cities", right? They might be genetically programmed to always return to the same area, so, they aren't going to leave just cause some big blocky trees are now proliferating. If there also happens to be abundant although highly processed garbage food available, why they'll avail themselves of that as well. My point is that they were there first and may have been part of the reason humans settled there, I think goose tastes good though I've never had it.
Only I can judge you.
Do you have any idea how many millions of square miles in the US (much less Canada) are untouched by humans? Well over 90% of the US is undeveloped land.
Those are two entirely different things. Untouched by humans would indicate that the land is in its natural state, and if you use that definition it is a lot closer to 0% than 90%. It may be undeveloped and unused, but the wetlands have been mostly destroyed, and the megafauna slaughtered. These both have a massive effect on the ecology, sometimes for hundreds or even thousands of miles around.
poison every waterway in sight
That's an act of terror. These geese have been trained by terrorists, and should be shot.
Probably.
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
I'm just going to call you a baboso (I assume you like to start conversations with insults and am happy to oblige).
The reason the deer and geese have no natural predators is because you and the other humans have killed them off because you didn't want your offspring or pets or domesticated animals to be killed by them. The problem is that you did encroach on their environment, these wetland areas are not the same as a natural habitat, with predators and such being in the mix. The ignorance of humans to not realized that destroying a predator and not produce an imbalanced system is all that the "geese problem" is highlighting.
Only I can judge you.
Birds are smarter than we give them credit for. I'm wondering how long it will take for the geese to bury the drone under a mound of goose crap.
Yes, because we humans are not animals, and are not part of the natural ecosystem of earth. And we are responsible for every extinction and every problem that the earth has ever had or will ever have. So we humans should just all commit suicide so that beautiful Mother Earth can thrive without our poisonous presence. Since you are clearly her most noble guardian, how about you go first, my hero?
The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
Considering that geese bury *everything* under a mound of goose crap...
That poop is part of a powerful, natural cycle of nutrient propagation inland. Kill the birds, kills the large animals, and you break this cycle and end up with Australia.
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Now I'm the terrorists to use teams of drones to herd geese into oncoming aircraft.
Log in or piss off.
That's fine. After all, your post still continues to make no sense. If it did, then you would know that--indeed in Canada wetland areas are the same as natural habitat. That there are plenty of predators in the mix, there aren't enough though to keep the population in check. And you're still ignorant enough to believe that neither deer nor geese have natural predators. I welcome you to take a trip to the "wilds of canada" and find out exactly what happens in that lovely circle of life.
Om, nomnomnom...
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/photos/13-animals-hunted-to-extinction/hunted-to-death
http://www.huntercourse.com/blog/2011/08/10-animals-hunted-or-nearly-hunted-to-extinction/
Not to mention Bison, Bald Eagle, Salmon (destroyed habitat), many whale species.
Not all, there were some mass extinction events due to climate changes (ice age cycling etc), but we're the only species that can claim such a wide variety of eradicated other species. Don't forget all the deer and geese predators that have been hunted into ineffectiveness.
We are certainly responsible for many of the problems that afflict us and other species: ocean pollution, waterway pollution, marshland destruction, etc. I am honored that you would even consider me her most noble guardian, truly I am, I must protest that I am but a humble observer not worthy of being considered her guardian. To you though I offer the honor of living with the animals which in truth we are, show us our animal nature by living among them with tools, clothing, and shelter only of your own manufacture. I promise to soon and follow in your footsteps.
Only I can judge you.
It seems I'm being misattributed the quotation atop this story by the gnomes behind the scenes at /. What I actually submitted was rather different: http://slashdot.org/submission/2890813/drone-strikes-for-public-health
Oh, I'm sorry sir, I thought you were referring to me, Mr. Wensleydale.
which would cost more the drone. plus more waste, and inefficiencies.
Really? Can you explain how a $0.03/shot costs more than a $56k-140k drone.
Om, nomnomnom...
****That there are plenty of predators in the mix, there aren't enough though to keep the population in check. ***
hmm, not to be mean but, your sentence contains a logical flaw. Let me know if you need me to break it down for you.
Only I can judge you.
I've seen domesticated hawks used to scare fowl off of runways which seems to have more "staying power".
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
Another thing to keep in mind is that the geese being the birdbrains that they are, seem to prefer a predator free zone (your city) to the natural one. The solution clearly is to let loose the predators in the city, but I imagine that wouldn't go to well with the humans who would of course suddenly realize they aren't apex predators at all.
Only I can judge you.
Why not open goose season for as long as you need it and let hunters shoot them for food?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I wonder if the same technology might be used to help clear runways and airspace around busy airports? I know that bird strikes are extremely expensive on commercial airliners, this might be a cheap alternative.
Effing sick and tired of the word 'drone' being used to describe everything these days. This is a remote-controlled helicopter, not an effing 'drone.'
This a job a dog would do better and cheaper. Just saying.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
As regards their poop, it is not malicious
Says the person who has never slipped on Canadian goose shit.
If there also happens to be abundant although highly processed garbage food available,
Canadian geese are never found at the city dump. They can be mostly found in civilization pooping on manicured lawns, which they seem to love eating, especially if it has a water feature.
That said, seagulls and pigeons are the true winged rats.
--
BMO
Yes, because we humans are not animals, and are not part of the natural ecosystem of earth. And we are responsible for every extinction and every problem that the earth has ever had or will ever have. So we humans should just all commit suicide so that beautiful Mother Earth can thrive without our poisonous presence. Since you are clearly her most noble guardian, how about you go first, my hero?
Or, to put it in geek terms, this sysadmin job would be a hell of a lot easier if there were no users.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Try this - it will make your cycling a bit more strenuous, though:
buy a goose-predator-shaped kite (or 2 or 3 of different species for variety), tie it to your bike seat on a sping-loaded line, and pedal off. The kite starts to fly up and behind you; the faster you go, the higher the kite flies, and the earlier it gets seen by the geese ahead of you.
BAM, geese fly away before you reach them.
They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
just pretend he said canadian charter or rights and freedoms
Which is part of the Canadian constitution...
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html
Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
They are Canadian Geese so the Constitution doens't apply
Eh? They're loud, obnoxious, and leave shit everywhere. Clearly they're American. ;)
...si hoc legere nimium eruditionis habes...
Oddly, Alaskans actually respect the natural migration of Canadian Geese, and find the entire yearly event a treasure to protect. Shame on the Canadians!
Actually in many places, the geese have become non-migratory. (There are actually several different subspecies, some are prone to finding a comfy spot and just staying there 12 months a year). The resident goose population in the Vancouver area, for example, is huge, and discharging long guns in the heart of the city is probably not the wisest thing to do. Besides, from what I'm told, canada goose tastes horrible.
...si hoc legere nimium eruditionis habes...
but simply scaring the birds by flying into the midst of them as they are eating and pooping and doing other bird things wouldn't break the treaty, as far as I can tell.
It's considered harassing wildlife and is illegal almost everywhere as part of normal wildlife protection laws.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Plus, geese are vicious bastards who'll attack and chase animals much much larger than themselves. And they poop like crazy.
Indeed, I used to be a Canadian before I took a Goose to the knee.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
there were some mass extinction events due to climate changes
And by "some," you of course mean the VAST, VAST MAJORITY. Anything humanity has done has been a drop in the bucket compared to what Mother Nature can do when she wants to. Just ask anything left from the Permian period. Oh wait, you can't.
The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
uh, I'm not too much into hyperbole so I thought that the words "mass extinction events" pretty well covered it.
Only I can judge you.
There are still millions of square miles of habitat, including wetlands, all over the U.S. and Canada, which have not and never will be touched by humans in any significant way. Take a look at a map. Better yet, visit central Canada or Montana or North Dakota or anywhere else with plenty of potholes and large shallow lakes.
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
When you protect one part of the ecosystem, it can overgrow its bounds even if the predator level stays the same. This is what has happened with deer and geese. There are actually MORE coyotes now than there were in the past, they fill pretty much the same niche as wolves, and they can't keep up.
Of course the reverse happens when you selectively protect the predators (see reintroduced wolves vs elk).
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
"Honey, which beach do you want to bring the kids to today? The one with the geese, or the one with the guy that fires a shotgun at random intervals?"
Ok, there are probably some places that are largely unchanged. But look at the Mississippi. It was at least a mile wide for a large part of its course, back in the day. Now it runs in a narrow channel to the sea, minus what we take out to purify for our needs. That is a major continental change in wetlands. Just that 1 river.
Now I'm wondering when you last looked at the Mississippi. Narrow? By what definition?
If you want a river that's actually changed, inspect the Colorado or Sacramento or L.A. river channels, all either sucked dry or built over.
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?