Clifton Park Advises Residents Not to Feed Canadian Geese 

While some people may find Canadian geese adorable, that is no reason to feed them, at least according to the Town of Clifton Park. 

The bulletin was issued May 27, advising residents not to feed the water fowl, properly dispose of food, and educate others on why feeding is harmful. 

“Please Do Not Feed Canada Geese,” the advisory read. “Feeding wildlife may seem harmless, but it creates serious problems.” 

The advisory listed several issues that feeding the birds can cause such as harm to the bird’s diet, water pollution from bird droppings, damaged lawns and aggressive behavior, disruption of normal behavior and increased road hazards. 

The Canada goose is a common bird in North America, with their habitat stretching from the arctic to northern Mexico, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 

While the birds have historically been migratory, most of the geese in New York are residents, spending most of their lives in one location, according to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. The birds mate for life and can live for over 20 years. In New York the resident geese population is around 200,000 with the population growing in winter as their winged brethren from northern Canada migrate south to the comparatively moderate climate. 

The birds are known for being aggressively territorial and attacking humans and others who come too close to their nest. This has led them to be dubbed online as  “cobra chickens”. 

The birds are also known for disrupting air travel. According to the FAA bird strike database, there have been 495 bird strikes involving geese since 1990 when bird strikes started to be recorded. The most famous of these incidents occurred on Jan. 15, 2009 when an Airbus A320 was forced to land on the Hudson River after striking a flock of geese shortly after takeoff.