Chattanooga: Golf course gets relief from gaggle of geese

A gaggle of messy Canada geese sent wildlife specialists on a not-so-wild goose chase Thursday morning at a local golf course.

The geese, which leave droppings, feathers and a pungent smell wherever they go, were rounded up at Brown Acres Golf Course by a crew of U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services employees. Once herded, the geese were taken from the golf course near Hamilton Place mall to a wildlife management area between Chattanooga and Knoxville.

“They’re a nuisance, obviously,” Brown Acres superintendent Pat Skinner said. “We worry about golfers and the safety of the geese, them getting hit by golf balls or carts. A lot of people don’t realize how messy they are.”

“It smells bad. (The droppings) get on your golf balls. You’re walking in it,” said Kyle Shirley, of Fort Oglethorpe, who said he’s golfed at Brown Acres for about 30 years.

Molting season — when geese shed their outer wing feathers and grow new ones, rendering them flightless during that time — occurs during a two-week stretch in late June and early July. Wildlife specialists use that period to herd and capture nuisance geese, said Keith Blanton, a district supervisor with wildlife services in Knoxville.

The wildlife department conducts roundups about five or six times during molting season in areas such as golf courses, residential communities and apartment complexes, but it receives calls year-round about Canada geese problems, he said.

“Humans create a perfect habitat for geese,” he said. “Geese like water and short grass and grass mowed right up to the water’s edge.”

Geese gathering is fairly simple. Employees set up fences and stage themselves in a circle around the gaggle before slowly walking together, causing the geese to form a line and, with only the occasional goose-y honk, waddle quietly toward the fences. Once penned in, the birds are tested for Avian flu and wildlife employees tag them with leg braces so their migration can be tracked.

Brown Acres’ Mr. Skinner contacted the wildlife agency after noticing a build-up of the birds. He estimated that more than 200 geese were prowling the golf course. Wildlife specialists rounded up Canada geese at the course several years ago, but the gaggle grew in population since, Mr. Skinner said.

Geese chew up greens and can become aggressive when protecting a nest, Mr. Skinner said. And worse, they leave droppings all over greens and tee boxes, especially near ponds. Course employees blow the droppings into nearby water, he said.

Golfers said they appreciated the geese removal, which will make putting and chipping easier.

“(Wednesday) they were all over (No.) 18,” Mr. Shirley said. “I’m just glad to say goodbye to them.”