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Meet Canada's Goosebuster Drone

Posted by Soulskill on from the playing-duck-duck-drone dept.

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Tyler LeBlanc reports that Ottawa has a problem — a goose problem. Every summer the wandering waterfowl return to the beaches that line the Ottawa River leaving high concentrations of geese poop on beaches and in shallow water, which can lead to outbreaks of infection in human populations, particularly children. In the past, the city has tried a number of different methods of ridding their beaches of the geese, but this year, they are going high-tech. Steve Wambolt, the founder of Aerial Perspective, modified a drone with some flashing lights and speakers and took to the skies. 'I took existing land-based anti-pest technology and put it on a helicopter,' says Wambolt. 'When I tested it at the beach a few days later it worked remarkably well.' Using pre-recorded predatory calls (video) from hawks, eagles, owls, ravens and even wolves, Wambolt stalks the beaches of Petrie Island in an attempt to scare the loitering geese away from the area for good."

52 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Who you gunna call? by ArcadeNut · · Score: 2, Funny

    Goosebusters!

    --
    Visit the Arcade Restoration Workshop @ http://www.arcaderestoration.com
    1. Re:Who you gunna call? by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Actually, it appears that product name is already taken:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      It's a stationary sound system that plays goose panic "phrases".

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    2. Re:Who you gunna call? by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      I ain't 'fraid of no goose!

  2. Royal drone by NotInHere · · Score: 1

    I guess this is a test for a drone protecting the royal swans owned by HRH Queen Elizabeth II on the Thames.

    1. Re:Royal drone by camperdave · · Score: 1

      So, let me get this straight - This story about using a drone to drive pest geese away from the shoreline of the Ottawa river in Canada somehow reminds you of a conservation effort where swans are banded by people in skiffs on the Thames river in England. Truly you have a dizzying intellect.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    2. Re:Royal drone by camperdave · · Score: 1

      Shit, you didn't think of it...

      I thought of the many times I've seen beaches covered in goose poop, if that's what you mean.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    3. Re:Royal drone by NotInHere · · Score: 1

      All wild bird's poop is full of pathogens. I doubt that, if the goose poop carries some special illness in addition to the basic pathogens, it is harming the goose.
      This story is about birds on a river, and swan upping, too. The only difference is that in swan upping the people take care of the birds, and in the story the people take care of the humans. I don't say that the drone is harming the goose or that the goose shouldn't be driven away from the beaches if they actually harm children.
      I hope you can see the abstraction I have made.

    4. Re:Royal drone by Ol+Biscuitbarrel · · Score: 1

      "swan-upping
      The annual practice of catching the swans on the River Thames and marking them to indicate their ownership."

      Thought that was perhaps akin to cow tipping at first...

  3. Or... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Life has never been easy for geese, but this summer, geese who just want to poop in peace have a new problem. As if the humans infesting the beaches of the Ottawa river weren't bad enough, now they've developed an obnoxious new behavior -- flying a drone with flashing lights and speakers that pretends to be a predatory animal. Many geese are saying that something ought to be done about this invasive species, but the goose on the street doesn't see a problem. One local who agreed to be quoted for this story said, "HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK," which is a fairly typical view around these parts.

    1. Re:Or... by penguinoid · · Score: 2

      Many geese are saying that something ought to be done about this invasive species, but the goose on the street doesn't see a problem.

      These geese don't know the half of it. The invasive species in question, thought to have originated in Africa and gone everywhere humans go, eating at their campsites and riding on their ships, is now causing the fastest mass extinction in history. You may have heard about mass extinctions causing a ~90% extinction rate -- well this one species is causing extinctions at a faster rate than any of those, and if it continues it will be the largest mass extinction in history. Worse yet, it is illegal in every country to hunt them, and if they make their home on a piece of land you're not allowed to use that land until they leave, and even then only with significant paperwork. They're not even endangered; they number over 7 billion, and are even thought to be impacting the global climate in a negative way, yet most nations have programs to provide them with food and assist their young and protect their habitat from any danger.

      In the US, there is a large government program which keeps some of these in captivity, providing them food, water, and shelter -- over 2 million individuals at a staggering price of ~$30,000 each. This program has been widely criticized because, despite the large price tag, released individuals interact poorly with others of their kind and about half of them have to be returned to captivity. In recent years, funding for this program has been increased dramatically by this one initiative.

      Though some are concerned about their increasing population numbers, there is a huge public outcry whenever anyone suggests a program to reduce their numbers directly or by discouraging breeding. Some people have suggested at least relocating a few groups where they can't harm other species, but so far these programs have little support and cannot be implemented. I strongly urge you to write to your representatives and demand something be done!

      --
      Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  4. Shoot Them? by brian.stinar · · Score: 2

    Why not shoot the geese? The article didn't say that they were protected, endangered, or otherwise not-shootable. Is the section of Ottaway the geese are polluting not safe for discharging firearms?

    In New Mexico, we have a number of animals that require culling (due to the elimination of top level predators) and the way New Mexico Game and Fish solves the problem is by issuing hunting licenses. This seems to work pretty well for us.

    1. Re:Shoot Them? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Why not shoot the humans? Give the animals a little room to live?

    2. Re:Shoot Them? by H0p313ss · · Score: 1

      Why not shoot the geese? The article didn't say that they were protected, endangered, or otherwise not-shootable. Is the section of Ottaway the geese are polluting not safe for discharging firearms?

      In New Mexico, we have a number of animals that require culling (due to the elimination of top level predators) and the way New Mexico Game and Fish solves the problem is by issuing hunting licenses. This seems to work pretty well for us.

      Bloody good question, as a resident of the Ottawa area I can testify that there doesn't exactly seem to be a shortage of geese, and in some places they really are a nuisance.

      So I did a little digging, sure enough our efficient government have created a Canada Goose FAQ. And it turns out that the little buggers are protected under the Migratory Birds Convention Act because their migratory. However:

      The Act gives the federal government the responsibility to establish hunting seasons, and Canada Geese are greatly appreciated by migratory game bird hunters across the country. More than 500 000 Canada Geese are taken in Canada each year by hunters.

      Migratory Birds Hunting Regulations, 2013–2014: Ontario

      There is an open season on the Canada Goose from the beginning of September to the middle of December. But with a limit of 5 geese per licenced hunter per day.

      So yes, hunting geese is an option, but no, just shooting them in the spring would be illegal.

      TL;DR -- It's the nesting season, their migratory and there's international agreements covering the treatment of migratory birds, we can only hunt/shoot them in the fall.

      --
      XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
    3. Re:Shoot Them? by peter.kowalchuk.reid · · Score: 1

      Killing them is a nearsighted solution. If you kill some of them,there will be more resources for those that are left, which cause another increase in populqtion puttinyg us right back where we started. And the idea if letting a bunch of shotgun-totting hicks go hunting within blocks of: our parliament, the residence of the prime minister, and many foreign embassy's, seems like a bad idea.

    4. Re:Shoot Them? by H0p313ss · · Score: 1

      So... Americans, please come shoot our geese and drink our excellent beer this fall. :)

      --
      XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
    5. Re:Shoot Them? by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

      It's in the middle of a city. In Canada we prefer not to have firearms discharged within our cities and towns. We're strange that way.

    6. Re:Shoot Them? by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

      The geese are better than all the kids running around. Besides the geese have been using the area for far longer than Ottawa has been around.

    7. Re:Shoot Them? by C0R1D4N · · Score: 1

      It's not even effective and has been tried in the past. The ONLY method that works is management with Border Collies. It's expensive and time consuming but it is by far the most effective method there is.

    8. Re:Shoot Them? by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      Killing them is a nearsighted solution. If you kill some of them,there will be more resources for those that are left, which cause another increase in populqtion puttinyg us right back where we started. And the idea if letting a bunch of shotgun-totting hicks go hunting within blocks of: our parliament, the residence of the prime minister, and many foreign embassy's, seems like a bad idea.

      It's a perfectly fine solution, since the population has exploded since the massive restriction on hunting them came into place. In my home town we get so many of them now they've actually polluted the local "pond" actually a small dam area maybe 1-2km in size to the point where the geese have killed off all the fish twice including the carp.

      And if you think 24 sussex is near parliament you need to go look at a map. Besides where they like to hang out isn't anywhere near parliament, it's where people like to hang out and toss them free food.

      --
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    9. Re:Shoot Them? by nitehawk214 · · Score: 2

      There are a lot of Canadian geese that do not bother migrating all the way back to Canada anymore. I am sick of getting hissed at while I walk along the Allegheny river trail every day.

      Saw a goose totally flip the crap out on a police German Shepard last year. Dog was totally cool and ignored the goose the entire time.

      --
      I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
    10. Re: Shoot Them? by i.kazmi · · Score: 1

      a person with a temper like yours owning a gun? now that's definitely scary.

      Also, with a temper like that, you could probably be classified a lunatic!

    11. Re:Shoot Them? by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      There are a lot of Canadian geese that do not bother migrating all the way back to Canada anymore. I am sick of getting hissed at while I walk along the Allegheny river trail every day.

      Hell, there are Canada geese too lazy to migrate south for the winter.

      I remember my youth seeing the noisy V formations as they honked their way south in the fall. These days, nothing. Just geese year-round in Canada.

      Bleh.

      Admittedly, it's warm enough year-round that they don't really need to migrated. At least this part of Canada is.

      Oh, get CBP/DHS on your geese. The ones that go south and return back are known as snowbirds. If they're not going back they're illegal immigrants :).

  5. heheheh by slashmydots · · Score: 2

    "Modified a drone with some flashing lights and speakers and took to the skies"
    Over the speaker, they say "go fly somewhere else, eh? You hosers."

    1. Re:heheheh by peter.kowalchuk.reid · · Score: 1

      Take off eh!

  6. uh oh by Charliemopps · · Score: 2

    Better hope they're not like these Geese:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    I hate geese.

  7. Someone elses problem? by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

    So what happens if this becomes effective enough that eventually the geese never go there again. Where do they go? Typically places that humans populate are not occupied by many predators and there are lots of open places by the water. So in all likelihood, they will find another place to go that humans occupy too.

    1. Re:Someone elses problem? by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

      So what happens if this becomes effective enough that eventually the geese never go there again. Where do they go?

      They will migrate south to the United States where Canadian Geese are essentiall a protected species due to all the PETA folks.

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    2. Re:Someone elses problem? by LordLimecat · · Score: 2

      Overly optomistic. The geese will get used to this thing, and eventually ignore / attack it.

      I feel like I heard someone trying this in California with the same result.

    3. Re:Someone elses problem? by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      So what happens if this becomes effective enough that eventually the geese never go there again. Where do they go?

      They will migrate south to the United States where Canadian Geese are essentiall a protected species due to all the PETA folks.

      They're called Canada Geese, not Canadian Geese. We had a problem with them in my town at the pond in the public park. After trying several stupid things to get rid of them, they finally killed them all.

      One of the stupid things they did was to catch them all and drive them a couple of hundred miles away and release them. Amazingly they were all back in a day or two.

  8. It's a wild goose chase! by nuckfuts · · Score: 2

    (If you had RTFA, you too could have stolen that comment).

  9. Re:why not open a hunting season on them? by plover · · Score: 1

    Because the river runs through the middle of the city, and they don't want a bunch of guys firing guns there.

    --
    John
  10. Re:Great...droves of constipated geese by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

    Give the geese their peace ... and distribute contraceptives or something.

    The problem with geese where people like to lay on the ground, is goose shit. They shit a lot.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  11. Goosebuster lyrics please! by SeaFox · · Score: 1

    I just woke up and am not in a state of mind to do it myself. Someone please write us a song about being terrorized by Canadian geese to go with the theme song.

  12. What about the Geese? by KermodeBear · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The Geese need somewhere to live, too. This stinks of homocentrism and speciesist thinking.

    --
    Love sees no species.
  13. I can already see the cartoon by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2

    One goose says to another goose: "Let's not land here, there's flying wolves in these parts."

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    1. Re:I can already see the cartoon by i.kazmi · · Score: 1

      would have modded you funny but sadly, i posted a comment and now i can't moderate, please mod parent up

  14. Geese's Feces by 517714 · · Score: 1

    Two pounds a day per goose (that's almost a kilogram) - it adds up quickly.

    --
    The US government have made it clear that we have no inalienable rights; any we do not defend vigorously will be taken.
  15. How about the opposite? by ddt · · Score: 1

    How about leaving the geese alone and removing the humans from the beaches they use when they visit? Humans are there to play in the water. The geese are there to rest, because they've been traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles.

  16. Iowa has anti-goose drones too by stoploss · · Score: 1

    Cedar Rapids, IA developed their own anti-goose drone as well.

  17. Same story still new a year later by maliqua · · Score: 1

    In the past, the city has tried a number of different methods of ridding their beaches of the geese, but this year, they are going high-tech.

    This is what they did last year, these beaches are in the middle of a city so hunting is out of the question so some kid got contracted to scare them off with a quad copter.

    and to save everyone time last years commets can be summarized:

    "Lets shoot em"
      RE: No its in a city no firearms discharge allowed

    "rabble rabble just shoot them"
      RE: no its in a city no firearms discharge allowed

    "Can't they just open season on them"
      RE: No still in a city no firearms discharge allowed

    1. Re:Same story still new a year later by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Air-pellet guns may do the trick

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    2. Re:Same story still new a year later by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      We've been goosed by the politicians.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  18. Old fashioned solution by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Just come up with a delicious goose recipe, and their population will dwindle quickly

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:Old fashioned solution by __aarzwb9394 · · Score: 1

      I've been told by Canadians that Canada Geese don't taste very nice.

  19. This might work for awhile by localroger · · Score: 1

    It will stop working when the geese realize that the drones never eat a goose and can be safely ignored.

    --
    Brackets contain world's first nanosig, highly magnified:[.]
  20. Re:why not open a hunting season on them? by Sandman1971 · · Score: 2

    Hate to break it to you, but the river doesn't run in the middle of the city. The river is a natural border between the cities of Ottawa and Hull, and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Where Petrie Island is (just about a mile from my house), there's nothing but woods on the other side of the river.

    --
    It's better to burn out than to fade away
  21. They're fucking food. by mrmeval · · Score: 1

    You kill and eat them. With proper management they're a sustainable resourse. In the US if they were included in game animals the fees and taxes hunters pay on ammunition, firearms, licenses etal could be used to make sure they were a sustainable game animal.

    Maybe the candidians could learn that.

    --
    I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
  22. We should be proud by LLKrisJ · · Score: 1

    Surely, we have every right to scare away geese that have probably visited those beaches for hundreds of years, if not more. Surely we cannot stay off the beaches when the geese are there, that would be way too hard. Our ability to go to the beach is way more importantWe are mankind, ruler of nature, screw those geese!

    Reminds me of those Brits that go live in the flood plain of the Thames only to complain that it's the conservationists fault (protecting some rare species of clam) when their houses and towns flood...

    Nature, get off our lawn!

  23. Re:Erm by Barsteward · · Score: 1

    plus it may just move the problem to someone else's district without really solving it

    --
    "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  24. Re:why not open a hunting season on them? by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

    'back in the day' ?

    Turkey is a "new world" bird, so was unknown in medieval Europe.

  25. Re:why not open a hunting season on them? by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

    Surely the birds shit on both sides of the river, disregarding the formal political boundaries of the National Capital Region?

    If you read the article, GooseBuster is deploying in other locations besides Petrie, including the Gatineau side.

  26. Re:The problem is not the geese, the solution is n by dolmen.fr · · Score: 1

    Yes. The goose came here for ever.
    The problem seems to be instead the children on the beaches. Let's eradicate those children!