A New "Most Effective Goose Decoy"

MLBob Furia

MLBob Furia

Well-known member
....besides being set up in the field where they want to eat.

Took a morning bike ride up at a large public park right near me, part of which is currently being seeded for a new athletic complex. Passed a group of what must've been upwards of 200 Canadas "grazing" in one of the newly seeded areas. Not all that unusual, as the park grasslands and ponds are a magnet for all sorts of waterfowl. What struck me was that smack in the middle of this concentration of geese was a plastic coyote decoy (complete with lifelike tail!) that some genius has decided will be a deterrent to geese feeding where the ground has been recently seeded.

I can only imagine what registers with the geese when they see one of these beauties placed in the middle of a field. Might as well put up a neon sign saying: "Tender young grass shoots and plenty of seed -ALL YOU CAN EAT! - just land here.

I believe I might get me one of those coyote dekes to set out in the stubble this winter.
 
Bob, would you consider that a confidence decoy?

I took this picture at Rose Island near Newport, RI a few years back.

2009-07-19223-1.jpg

 
It is USDA Wildlife Services at their best.

I love it when they also try to argue to shot a few geese and leave them as a deterrent to geese. I always ask them 2 questions. 1. have you ever seen geese decoy to dead geese in fields? If there is a hunter present in their ranks they might admit that yes geese will come to dead geese and aren't scared away from them. 2. How long do you think a dead goose is going to last in a field with real coyotes around?
 
Most of them were banded. The island is a bird sanctuary and I am guessing there must have been a banding effort at some point. Those birds don't migrate north as the picture was taken in July.

My wife and I stayed in the lighthouse for the weekend. It is a museum and it was a blast. I highly recommend it if you love lighthouses and want to step back in time.

http://www.roseislandlighthouse.org/
 
About a year ago a local farmer had geese in his newly seeded wheat fields. He placed two of those "coyotes" in each field. I watched those fields for a brief period afterwards and the geese were gone. However I've seen other parks and athletic fields where the fake coyotes/dogs weren't doing their job. Like most "scarecrow" tactics, their success is short lived.

Or perhaps the local geese have just lost their fear?
 
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