Could fake alligator heads help ward off geese in the city? One councillor says it's worth a shot.
City council discussed bird and goose management strategies at a meeting this week.
According to a staff report, the city is spending $25,000 to $30,000 to develop strategies that minimize the impact of geese on the city's waterways, parks and streets. The report states the number of resident goose nests is down from more than 250 in 2017 to 50 in 2024.
Staff are recommending the program continue in 2025, and a competitive bid process will used to hire a wildlife management company to provide goose management services.
While the number of nests is down, Mayor Don McIsaac says the stats aren't painting the whole picture.
"I think it may be, mathematically, the number of nests has decreased, but the number of geese seems to have increased," he said.
John McMullen, manager of park planning and development, said geese are attracted to the natural turf in public parks.
"Turf is their favourite source of food," he said.
After doing some research on solutions to the issue, Coun. Jay Fallis suggested staff try using fake alligator heads to scare away geese from parks and beaches.
"They can be employed even if it's not in the correct climate," he said. "Apparently, there's been a lot of success with them in the past."
Voting to ratify the continuation of the goose management program will happen at the next council meeting in two weeks.
Council also discussed the need for a city-wide bird management program due to a significant increase in seagull activity in the downtown core.
The program would cost the city $120,000 annually and it will be referred to the 2025 budget deliberations.
Council also authorized a budget of $168,000 to procure a contractor for the abatement on the roof at the Orillia Public Library. This will be funded by the general asset management reserve.
A recent report explains the library roof "has become a popular nesting ground for seagulls, compromising rooftop equipment through excessive debris predominantly composed of droppings and feathers."
The report notes "decoy predatorial birds and reflective spinning devices" have not worked.
According to Mark Buma, manager of facilities operations, the library roof is white and made from membrane materials that reflect heat, which is what is attracting the birds.
"A traditional black asphalt-based roof is going to hold a lot of heat," he explained. "You could speculate that nesting birds would prefer to choose a roof that is a reflective surface versus one that's going to hold heat."
Buma says it will be difficult to clean the library roof, and using a pressure washer wouldn't be possible because of the roof's materials.
"You can't spray them with water," he said. "When you're cleaning, you have to contain the spray so that that's not going down onto the downtown street."
