VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – You may have seen a lot of Canada geese wandering and flying around.
It’s mating season for the birds.
But at one Virginia Beach apartment complex, someone is apparently messing with the nests.
Concerned residents called 10 On Your Side about the problem.
The disturbed nests were found at Twin Canal Village Apartments off South Independence Boulevard and South Lynnhaven Parkway.
Stephanie Parenteau said she is not an expert, but is a constant canal observer, especially the last two weeks when she noticed a terrible trend.
“These geese nests have been destroyed, basically, this whole canal all the way down to the right and the left,” Parenteau said.
10 On Your Side walked with Parenteau along the canal’s edge and she carried a stick just in case. She had it at the ready to brush back the male goose, the gander, when she got too close to the nest, and he came at her.”
Parenteau showed us an abandoned nest that was not abandoned a few days ago.
“This was a nest and there is nothing in it,” Parenteau said.
Had she seen eggs in the nest?
“Yes, there were tons of them, all over the banks of the canal,” she said.
It should be noted that it is the middle of mating season, and we saw no goslings. We did see mother geese, called dames, sitting on nests undisturbed.
Parenteau became so concerned she actually posted warning notes to stay away.
“It is just to scare kids off,” Parenteau said. “It says do not enter this area; it is an important nesting area.”
What is going on is not the fault of the apartment complex, which faces a terrible situation.
Unofficially, the complex has over a hundred Canada Geese on property. There are feces everywhere, and the basketball court remains empty because there are so many goose droppings on the court, and on the grass, everywhere.
It is a gross problem.
Parenteau has taken on the challenge to protect and defend the Canada geese, and to take them under her “wing,” so to speak.
She showed us a Canada goose that appeared to be killed.
She took pictures of the abandoned nests that looked torn apart.
She is in a group chat on Nextdoor with others who are concerned and on the lookout.
Simply stated, Parenteau finds them fascinating, and fierce.
WAVY-TV Photojournalist Chris Wynn landed a shot of a Canada goose taking off, then in mid-flight, landing on the water, and then going after other geese with wings flapping making a terrible noise. It was a “flap-athon.”
Parenteau has learned Canada geese are much like humans – they mate for life, both parents help raise the young and they grieve for ones lost,
“They grieve just like human parents,” Parenteau said, “and they are very good parents who stay with the same partner for life.”
We reached out to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Public Information Officer Paige Pearson said she was unaware of the call/complaint concerning the Canada geese. She did send us this.
“It is legal to destroy a Canada goose nest with the proper Nest and Egg Depredation permit, which is available from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” she said. “This is one method to manage Canada goose problems and conflicts they create in populated areas and in agricultural settings. Landowners can sign up for a permit on the USFWS Nest and Egg Depredation Order Website: https://epermits.fws.gov/eRCGR/geSI.aspx. There are many landowners in Virginia and other states that get this permit to help manage problem Canada geese. We don’t know who signs up for this program each year as this sign-up period is currently open.”
The website below provides more information on this program.