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Eric -
At New York State Parks we have not tried the gull
wiring at any of our beaches but our sister agency, the NY State Dept. of
Environmental Conservation has used it at a large beach on Lake George with some
success. I spoke to Brett Blanchard (518-623-1200) and he offered the
following information. They use 30 - 40 lb test fishing line and string it
from existing metal poles at a height of 7-8 feet. The poles are
approximately 18 - 20" apart. This is a very inexpensive solution and is
generally effective for a while until the birds get used to it. They redo
it every year as needed. They also use forestry flagging on poles as a
scare tactic for the gulls. Brett is willing to discuss this with you if
you have further questions. He is also looking for some photos of it that
he could possibly pass along.
As others have stated in previous replies, geese are a
whole different situation. With them, you also need multiple tools to keep
them off your beach. We have found that egg oiling in March and
April if you can find the nests, is the most useful. If the adults
have no young it is much easier to scare them away. Once they have molted
and can't fly, if they are at your beach, you are stuck with them for the
summer. Border Collies seem to be very effective in combination with some
other tactics such as remote control speed boats, and fencing on the beach and
possibly in the water to prevent swim ins. We have also been experimenting
with Green Laser pens at night. Several of our park managers have reported
that this works really well to scare the geese. It may also work on gulls,
we haven't tried yet. Feel free to give me a call with any
questions.
Good Luck!
Karen B.
Terbush
Environmental Analyst 2
NYS Office of Parks,Recreation
and Historic
Preservation
Environmental Management Bureau
Agency Bldg. 1, Empire State
Plaza
Albany, NY 12238
(518) 474-0409
Fax 474-7013
Also, city of
L.A. at Cabrillo Beach and LA County did this at Marina
Del Rey in Mothers beach. Eric is correct – the success has been
spotty.
From:
owner-beachnet@great-lakes.net [mailto:owner-beachnet@great-lakes.net]
On Behalf Of Eric
Edwards
Sent: Tuesday,
November 27, 2007 10:18 AM
To: Eric [DNR] O'Brien;
beachnet@great-lakes.net
Subject: RE: BEACHNET==> Gull wiring
at beaches
Geese are not a problem in
Southern California, but sea gulls are.
A number of cities have used monofilament line in an effort to deter the
gulls, with varying degrees success. A specific example would be the
City of Avalon which is located on Santa Catalina Island. I don't know the cost, but
you could contact the city for details.
Eric
Edwards R.E.H.S.
Chief Environmental Health Specialist
County of Los Angeles
Department of Public
Health
Water Quality Program 626-430-5420
eedwards@ph.lacounty.gov
>>>
Elizabeth Alm <alm1ew@cmich.edu> 11/27/2007 9 19
>>>
Apparently, from my conversations with a number of gull/geese
deterrent experts, gull and geese deterrent strategies may need to be
quite different. Geese are rather skittish and can be chased away
relatively easily and will then tend to stay away, but gulls are much more
persistent and harassment techniques must be consistent and
protracted.
Liz
Eric:
My
involvement with this network evolved from the Blue Flag designation at
Wasaga Beach Provincial Park in Ontario. Your question about gull wiring
at beaches reminded me of a recent presentation I attended that was given by
Scott Thomas, Superintendent at Six
Mile Provincial Park in Ontario. I checked with Scott to see if he
had any written reports or an update that I could share. There isnt a report
but Scott did share the following:
At Six Mile Provincial Park, a net type product like
monofilament was not used as the issues related to geese and they tend to
not fly onto the beach but instead land on the water and swim in to the
beach area. Tactics comprised of motion activated sprinklers (with signage)
during shoulder season only, staff harassment by driving Gators on the
beach areas etc., hanging coveralls from trees, and professional goose
control canine performing random visits. Of course campers on the beach are
a deterrent in high use times.
The results from these
activities included:
- No closed beach
days which is a reduction from 2 to 4 bad water quality samples annually
that resulted in closed beaches.
- No written
complaints from park users which is a significant reduction from dozens of
written complaints in previous years.
In conclusion,
although there is no one technique that appeared to work best; this
combination of approaches has proven to be successful in deterring geese
from the beaches at Six Mile
Provincial Park. Generally the trick was to
create an unwelcoming and unsettling environment which contributed to
encouraging the geese to move on.
John Fisher
Park
Superintendent
Wasaga Beach Provincial Park
Ontario Parks
From:
owner-beachnet@great-lakes.net [
mailto:owner-beachnet@great-lakes.net] On Behalf Of O'Brien, Eric
[DNR]
Sent: November 26,
2007 3:39 PM
To:
beachnet@great-lakes.net
Subject: BEACHNET==> Gull wiring at
beaches
Hello all
Does anyone have examples of
cases where wiring was used to deter gulls/geese from beaches? I have
heard some people talk about them being a cheap deterrent, but the only
example I could find was from Ottowa and cost sever hundred thousand
dollars. Any information about who to contact, design schematics or
pictures of the systems would be very helpful.
Thanks,
Eric
_______________________________________________
Eric
OBrien
Beach
Monitoring Coordinator
Iowa DNR,
Water Monitoring
109
Trowbridge Hall
Iowa
City, IA 52242-1319
Office:
(319) 353-2835
Cell:
(319) 560-6128
Email:
Eric.OBrien@dnr.iowa.gov
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________
Elizabeth Wheeler
Alm, Ph.D.
Professor, Microbiology
157 Brooks Hall
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI 48859
email: alm1ew@cmich.edu
web
address: http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/alm1ew/index.html
Office phone: 989-774-2503
Lab
phone: 989-774-1862
Dept. phone: 989-774-3227
Dept. fax:
989-774-3462
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