Continuing Migratory Bird Issue
I continue to speak to many members individually regarding our migratory bird (geese, ducks and coots) population. I am writing this in my continuing effort to keep everyone informed on our activities to control this problem/population.
We all know the destructive nature of this wildlife including extensive turf loss from feeding and waste deposits as well as just the overall sloppy conditions it creates. I will take this opportunity to give you a broad view of our approach and list our specific efforts below. Arrowhead Country Club works very closely with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Arizona Fish and Wildlife to employ every legal means at our disposal to aide in the management of these migratory bird species. We also utilize the above organizations and the specific items mentioned below to control the species that end up being resident population. It is important to note that both on the Federal and State level they realize that this migratory bird population is a problem. That realization is what leads to extended hunting seasons and the programs mentioned below to control the population.
Due to the seasonality of this issue, I will begin this detailed account beginning with August just prior to the “season.”
How we utilize the outside organizations:
· The USDA is on property beginning late August each year. At this time, we begin monitoring activity to determine if a pre-season baiting can be employed. This all comes down to timing. The USDA needs a large enough population of birds on-site to feed for 14 days to establish a feeding habit that the maximum number of birds will take advantage of. At that time, they switch the feed to a heavy sedative called Alpha Chloralose which allows the birds to be harvested and removed. This process comes down to timing because they have to complete this process 10 days prior to the first state published hunting season. This process is also employed in February after the last published state hunting season. It may not be utilized during hunting season as someone could potentially eat a bird exposed to the heavy sedative.
· Once the USDA is on-site beginning sometime in late August or early September, they hunt the migratory birds on our property on a bi-weekly basis turning to weekly or more frequently as we get deeper into the fall and winter months. Early on they may harvest 10 or more birds with each visit. As time goes on, the birds get more nervous and stay aloft longer so those numbers decrease. The hope in this ongoing effort is that they will ultimately choose to leave and go to a place where they are not nervous.
· Through Fish and Wildlife we have a Resident Canada Goose Registration which allows us to disrupt birds, nests and habitats on our property.
· Both organizations provide us counsel on their latest studies in tactics which we may utilize in an effort to control these species.
What we do in-house:
· We nuisance all species of birds with an air paint ball gun. This is done at multiple times each day but is most effective during feeding cycles.
· We disrupt all species daily. The most effective way is to get them into the air. Sometimes all you can accomplish is getting them into the water. The goal is to disrupt their feeding so either is beneficial but getting them to take flight is the desired outcome.
· Laser pointers or red lens lights are beneficial during the pre-dawn and dusk hours as they view them as potential predators. The hope is they will become scared and choose to leave the property.
· Predatory decoy mechanisms are placed in many or our lakes which also are supposed to resemble a predator in the area at those pre-dawn and dusk hours and aide in moving the birds off property.
· In the last visit with the USDA on Monday, we discussed wire lining lakes to create a “disruptive” area while birds are trying to enter and exit water. This is more effective on coots than other species and while singularly would not control any issues, it in our USDA representatives words “may be one more thing that might help.” We will begin this work on some of our smaller water areas next week to see if they have a positive outcome.
· To help control the waste left behind, we utilize jet blowers several times each week and have increased the frequency of mowing high impact areas to clear the area.
· After hunting season ends in February, we continue to have the USDA come out to hunt the birds that become “resident.” They are usually on property after season every week or two until we have the resident population narrowed down and spooked to where our nuisance and disruptive tactics keep them at bay.
· Those practices carry us over to August when we started at the top of this section.
We can use your help:
· Please do not feed any birds on Club property. No migratory bird is a pet. I ask that those of you who read this update educate other Members you see feeding birds on Club property.
This obviously is an area that we spend significant resources on in both time and money. When we employ a baiting strategy, each area costs approximately $1000 excluding our USDA representative’s time. Each visit for baiting or hunting costs approximately $200. When you add the staff payroll to those figures our annual investment in these control efforts reaches tens of thousands.
This above is a bullet point summary of our efforts in controlling the bird population. We continue to revise this plan as new techniques are brought to our attention by federal and state organizations. If you have any specific questions or would like a more detailed explanation of the items below, do not hesitate to contact me at the Club.
Kindest regards,
Steve
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