Cottage Q&A
QUESTIONIn the last two years, I've noticed Canada geese on our lake, south of Gravenhurst. Should I be concerned that they endanger the loon or fish populations?
ANSWER
Canada geese, originally native to southern Ontario, were virtually extirpated here by the turn of the 20th century. In the 1960s, they were reintroduced. By that time, southern Ontario, with its parks, lawns, golf courses, and agricultural croplands - not to mention its lack of natural predators and restrictions on hunting by humans - was an excellent habitat. The population exploded, and in some places the geese have become a well-known nuisance.
They have also, as you've noticed, been making their way north into cottage country. But they haven't changed their diet - they are mainly vegetarians, with a strong preference for short grasses in open areas. So while they, and what they leave behind, could become bothersome in the parts of cottage country that are being urbanized with lawns and golf courses, they shouldn't cause problems on a lake fringed by trees.
You don't mention how many geese you've been seeing, but ornithologist Michel Gosselin, with the Canadian Museum of Nature, speculates one or a very few pairs may be using your lake for roosting overnight, or possibly for nesting. Regardless of whether your wild visitors are simply migrating through or have set up housekeeping there, it's not likely they'll settle in large numbers (unless you or your neighbours have installed some large, tasty lawns for them to graze on), and it's unlikely a few pairs on a lake would make it difficult for loons to find nesting sites. So you're free to relax and enjoy their visits.
* Published in the March 2005 issue of Cottage Life
