News

Reader is Mother Goose no more

Posted August 03, 2007 11:00 pm

Geri Nikolai

Liz McDonald, who wrote a few weeks ago asking for help in getting geese to leave her property, reports that she happily has given up the title of Mother Goose of Shirland.

She found a nice fellow from Freeport who spent more than an hour capturing the 10 geese who had moved onto her land and moving them to a farm with a pond, McDonald e-mailed.

This was after she phoned everyone from trappers to the Humane Society to the Department of Natural Resources, which suggested shooting them, McDonald said.

She had been feeding them and didn't want to hurt them, just get them off her property so her beloved birds would return to feeders and she wouldn't have to clean up goose poop.

A few readers had suggestions for McDonald, or anyone who has uninvited geese on their property:

-- From Bob Bailey of Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop in Rockford: Don't feed them. Rockford has too many geese along the Rock River bike path, which is why people are not supposed to feed the geese there. Don't mow around ponds. Geese want open areas for nesting and sleeping. Soak new eggs in vegetable oil. Most of all, don't feed them in winter. Use some tough love and force them to migrate, the way they're supposed to.

--Find someone with a border collie and borrow the dog for a few days.

-- From Joe Seid of Bird-X Inc. in Chicago: Get a 3-D Coyote or the nontoxic Goose Chase repellent. Each is less than $100. Or, buy a floating alligator head, called Gator Guard. Or, a Goose Buster, which makes natural shotgun sounds. For details, log on to bird-x.com.

Nameless volunteer

cleans up old signage

An unknown volunteer - let's call him or her the Beautification Guerrilla - picked up 93 signs on public right of way, mostly boulevards between streets and sidewalks, along East State Street and Perryville Road last month. The guerrilla reports they include advertising for a dating service, big-box stores and candidates for last year's School Board election. The guerrilla also reports it's illegal to place a sign on right of way and these organizations could be fined $500.

Still time for AIB banquet

You still can sign up for the awards banquet sponsored by America in Bloom at the Clock Tower on Sept. 29. Three Rock River Valley cities - Beloit, Rockton and Rockford - are in the running for awards. For details, call Ruth Miller at the City of Gardens, 815-987-1689. Tickets are $55. The national organization will assign seats, unless you buy a table of eight.

If you want to take in the programs and tours, you can still sign up at americain

bloom.org.

Geri Nikolai writes about home and garden for the Register Star. Contact her at 815-987-1337 or gnikolai@rrstar.com.

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