Evaluation of white plastic flags as visual repellents for Snow Geese on coastal salt marshes

Abstract

Abstract Excessive grazing by Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens) causes severe damage to salt marshes along the eastern seaboard of the United States and to traditional agricultural practices such as salt hay farming. The effectiveness of white plastic flags as visual repellents to Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens) on six Delaware Bay salt hay (Spartina sp.) marshes was evaluated. At each site, two 20 ha plots were selected, and then randomly assigned to the treatment (1 flag/0.4 ha) or the control (1 bare stake/0.4 ha) condition. From November 1993 until April 1994, faeces were collected at weekly intervals along transects established in each plot. The mean dry weight of faeces in flagged plots was significantly less than the mean dry weight of faeces in control plots, indicating relatively lower levels of goose activity in flagged areas. These findings are consistent with growing evidence that plastic flags are a simple, economical method of repelling Snow Geese.