Kansas biologists go on a wild goose chase – for science (VIDEO)

Old 1168-07910, as she’s now known, was not happy. She’d come to a corner of Riverside Park at the promise of some corn and within minutes was packed tightly in a mesh pen with about 80 of her kind. Human hands came from all directions.

White goose down floated through the air like snowflakes as she and the others flapped their wings, kicked, hissed and honked in protest.

But soon she was headed toward the river as fast as her webbed feet could waddle, awarded a leg band with those nine numbers for her troubles. The jewelry was a gift from biologists seeking insight into the life cycles and migrational patterns of area Canada geese.

Last week, about a dozen people worked to attach the metal research bands to the legs of about 1,500 geese in the Wichita area.

“This is our fourth year in a five-year research project where we’re trying to (annually) band around 2,000 geese in Kansas,” said Tom Bidrowski, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism waterfowl biologist. “We’ll usually do as many (in the Wichita area) in two days as in the rest of the state, maybe more. Our largest population is in south-central Kansas.”

Among other facts, biologists are hoping to learn the best ways to keep America’s burgeoning Canada goose population in check.

In the name of science

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the practice of attaching metal bands to the legs of birds goes back at least to the days of Britain’s King Henry IV, circa 1595. One of the king’s falcons escaped and, because of the band, was identified 24 hours later about 1,350 miles away. By the early 1900s, biologists were attaching large numbers of bands to the legs of assorted birds. For nearly a century, a federal registry has allowed biologists to log the information about when, where and at what age a bird has been banded.

Those who find a banded bird, usually biologists or hunters, then report where and when the band was collected or seen.

One of the reasons for the ongoing study, Bidrowski said, is to see whether increased hunting opportunities have the desired effect of lowering Canada goose populations. About two years ago, every state in the federal Central Flyway, basically North Dakota down through Texas, was allowed to increase daily bag limits on the birds.

Kansas raised the limit from three to six daily. Most of the other states raised their daily limit to eight.

Bidrowski said biologists are wanting to know whether most of the increased harvest is on resident birds, which mostly stay in one area all year, like most of the geese in Wichita, or on migrants, like those hatched in the Dakotas or Canada.

Urban resident birds, like those in Wichita and Kansas City, raise challenges because they aren’t as likely to fly into the countryside through most of the winter, where they can be hunted, the method of population control most biologists prefer.

Charlie Cope, Wildlife and Parks district biologist for the Wichita area, said the department annually gets complaints of urban and suburban geese fouling and destroying yards and golf courses and damaging nearby crops.

With federal approval, Cope can issue permits that allow people to destroy nests or eggs in problematic areas.

Kansas’ last resort, Cope said, would be to kill problem Canada geese during the spring and summer, as some states already do.

Currently, Bidrowski said, few of the geese banded in Wichita get taken by hunters. After the vulnerable first year of life, he said, the annual survival rate of urban geese is about 90 to 95 percent.

Last week, Cope and about 10 biologists and volunteers trapped and tagged geese in and around Wichita. Most of the adult birds were flightless because of the molting process, in which last year’s feathers are replaced by new ones.

That the birds are more used to being around humans also made a difference.

Painful for biologists

Cope sometimes threw a little corn to attract a flock to an open location. Then the crew moved in from all angles, each person carrying a net panel until the flock was contained and the panels connected.

Geese tagged in previous years were quickly checked to make sure the band fit well and safely.

Geese without bands were identified by age and gender, and bands were carefully placed on their legs before they were released.

Physically, the process was much harder on the biologists than the geese. After four hours, beards and hair were dotted with white down. Some of the birds, which can weigh more than 10 pounds, dealt out physical punishment, too.

Biologist Jessica Mounts showed big, deep bruises on both of her arms from biting, twisting goose bills.

“These are from their toenails” she said, rolling her arm and showing several deep scratches. “It can get a little painful.”

This story was originally published June 21, 2015 at 8:07 PM with the headline "Kansas biologists go on a wild goose chase – for science (VIDEO)."