Waterford Lakes Homeowners Association
July 15, 2019 Bulletin
We will not
have an HOA Meeting this month with all the special activities in July. We would like to update you however on what
the Board is discussing.
Treasurer’s Report (end of June): Checking: $19,026
Roofing
Reserve Fund: $82,752
CD: $51,357
Profit/Loss: $3735
%
of Budget Spent 35%
Solutions to the Canadian Geese
Problem:
The Board
had a special meeting Saturday, July 13th to discuss ways to reduce the goose
problems. Anne Inman will be chairing a
committee of concerned residents and Board members to put a geese management
plan together to implement by early Spring when the geese begin nesting. We will be reaching out to other Avon
Homeowner Association Presidents and the Town of Avon with our proposed plan.
Here are the facts.
Take time to look at a google map of the area around Waterford
Lakes. There are more than 30 retention
ponds bordering our community. Populations
of Canada geese have dramatically increased over the past 25 years in urban
areas where there are few predators and a dependable year-round supply of food
and water. They are particularly
attracted to mowed lawns. They graze on
the grass and submerged aquatic vegetation.
They tend to nest behind our homes close to water where they are
protected. They may return to nest at the same site in consecutive years. Adult
pairs will stay together until one dies.
As you know, both parents will vigorously defend their goslings until
they are able to fly. Geese can live
10-24 years in the “wild”. Geese molt
once a year where worn, frayed and lost feathers are replaced with new
ones. This molting season is in June and
July lasting about 45 days. None of the family can fly at this time hence the “herds”
of geese migrating back and forth between our retention ponds and leaving 1-3
pounds of droppings per bird in their wake!
This is very unsanitary and unsightly. Geese in high concentrations are
more likely to get diseases and parasites.
Goose droppings increase algae growth in our ponds.
Goose
management costs significant money and is not a line item in our budget. The Committee will be including a cost factor
in their plan to be proposed to our membership in February, 2020.
Geese are
very adaptable birds. Consequently, our
plan must be multi-faceted and something we ALL need to support, whether you
live on a pond or not. The first steps to
remedy existing problems and preventing conflicts in our neighborhood are the
following:
#1. STOP
Feeding the geese, ducks and birds in the Spring, Summer and Fall. We understand if you would like to feed the
birds in the Winter. When their diets
are no longer supplemented with handouts and they have to depend on the natural
food supply, some may move on.
Effectively immediately, we are a NO FEED COMMUNITY. Feeding attracts more geese to the area. If our plan is to be successful in managing
the population, we have to eliminate one of the causes.
#2. We
will discontinue mowing around the ponds this year as we consider a vegetation
barrier.
The Geese
Committee will be discussing the following elements for their proposed PLAN:
· Continue changing the habitat
· Plant Vegetation Barriers
· Relocation/Euthanasia and permits
· 3ft. fences to impede migration
· Multiple and changing harassment
tactics
· Noise-making devices
· Chemical repellants
· Lasers
· Dogs
· Permit to destroy eggs
· Feeding
· Public Health Concerns
· Town-wide campaign
Contact Anne
Inman at (317) 504-9268 if you would like to participate in the planning
sessions. We will limit the committee to 8-9 residents. We hope you will enthusiastically embrace the
discussion and process of putting together a long-term plan.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Anne Inman,
Board Secretary
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