WATERLOO REGION RELOCATES GEESE TO KINGSVILLE
The City of Waterloo is working to address the overpopulation of geese in Waterloo Park by relocating them to a new home.
On June 10, 2025, a flock of over 200 Canada geese was transferred from Waterloo Park and released at Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary in Kingsville, Ontario.
Staff from the city and the sanctuary worked together to gather the geese.
“I don’t think anybody would actually believe how smoothly it went. It was single file. These geese kind of just marched onto a trailer,” Robin Milne, Director of Parks, Forestry and Cemetery Services at the City of Waterloo, said.
The trip to their new home took approximately three hours. The city obtained a permit from the Canadian Wildlife Service prior to the relocation.
Milne said the decision to relocate the geese stemmed from a high number of complaints received about bird droppings.
Milne said the issue surrounding bird droppings became a bigger concern after the Waterloo Park shoreline was redeveloped.
“[With] the new shoreline redevelopment, the idea was to draw visitors to the shoreline,” Milne said. “With all the hard surfaces on the shoreline now, the geese droppings just got out of control, to the point where it was like walking through a minefield and we couldn’t stay on top of it.”
To combat the issue, the city rented specialized equipment to clean the concrete on a regular basis. The city also set up coyote decoys throughout the park to deter the geese; however, most of the decoys were stolen within 24 hours of being set up.
“Geese are not a problem specific to Waterloo or Waterloo Park or any urban centre across Southwestern Ontario. Geese can be a nuisance, and, in some areas, they can be managed,” Milne said.
“There’s no natural predators in the park, so the [goose] population just keeps growing and growing,” he said.
Though effective, Milne said the cleanup efforts were time consuming, costly and disruptive to patrons in the park.
When it became clear that the population of geese was beyond the park’s capacity, they engaged with the Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary to find an alternate solution.
The sanctuary has done relocation specifically to geese for several other municipalities in Southwestern Ontario. The sanctuary, which is funded through donations, feeds the geese and offers appropriate shelter and nesting grounds.
Experts at the sanctuary also offered guidance and a plan on how and when to collect geese eggs and relocate the birds.
“In June, many geese can’t fly because they are molting or too young, making it the ideal time for relocation while keeping family groups and mated pairs together,” said a statement from the City of Waterloo.
Since the relocation, the park has approximately 25 geese remaining.
The city plans to continue monitoring the number of geese in the park throughout the summer. If the relocation is successful this year, Milne said the city will re-apply for the Canadian Wildlife Service permit and repeat the relocation initiative next year.
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