As usual it is that time of year where we need to do everything possible to deter the Canada Geese, Seagulls, and Mallard Ducks from nesting here at Sunfish Lake or these invasive species that are not native to this area will take over the lake and render it unusable by humans similar to Columbia Lake, Victoria Lake, and pretty much any park, pond, or nearby water body.
The Lake Association owns three remote control boats which can be very effective in chasing off the ducks and geese. Right now the Echlin’s have one boat, and I have the other boat. The third boat is available to any family interested. Thank you to Dave Hudspeth once again for the orange blinking Goose lights that help to deter the geese at night.
Unfortunately, there seems to be few people pursing the Canada Geese and Mallard Ducks this year and already the two Mallards have become a group of four Mallard Ducks and have been trying to mate the past few nights. Any young born on the lake will return to this lake and we could soon have dozens of ducks. This would be a serious issue for anyone swimming in the lake since Mallard Ducks carry a parasite that causes “Swimmers Ear” and people swimming in the lake will face chronic ear infections all summer long – particularly children.
Please do all that you can to deter the Mallard Ducks, Seagulls and Canada Geese while also not disturbing the good native species that we need to encourage in our ecosystem such as the Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Osprey, and now also the new Bald Eagles that are nesting for the first time in decades within 1km of our lake. If you can’t tell the invasive Canada Goose, Seagull, or Mallard Duck from these other native bird species you can learn more about bird identification at: www.allaboutbirds.org
