Based on these observations alone it may be reasonable to concede to there being a problem of goose excrement from growing populations within City parks particularly those on the riverfront.
Goose Population Dynamics
From previous Canada Goose control programs undertaken by Windsor Airport Operations in partnership with the Holiday Beach Migration Observatory using bands, colour marking and monitoring of individual geese removed from locations in and around Windsor, it was determined that geese occupying inland locations, typically storm water retention ponds, are fairly sedentary, often remained in sibling or family units and were likely hatched in the near vicinity. This dynamics makes these populations ideal to manage from a population aging techniques like rounding up and relocating and then subsequent egg oiling but difficult to manage from a habitat modification or exclusion methodology.
Conversely it was determined that geese occurring in locations along the Detroit River were highly mobile and nomadic. Geese banded and colour marked would often persist in one area only to be discovered in other areas replaced by a completely new group. There also seems to be some recruitment from birds from Lake St. Clair and the US side of the river. This is supported by the fact that there are relatively few breeding sites observed along riverfront parks yet from a 2010 survey there were an estimated 300 goslings occurring in Windsor riverfront parks alone. This dynamic makes population aging techniques ineffective but does warrant consideration for habitat modification, exclusion methodology and behaviour modification. Each of these control measures has unique problems in execution in our highly groomed, highly used riverfront parks.
What is not particularly well known for the geese occupying the riverfront is the influence of molt migrants, individual or groups of birds that prior to molting flight feathers migrated north from their southern sites to ensure access to cooler greener pasture. This is less likely a situation for in-land ponds but certainly may be a reason for population increases along the riverfront. The round up and relocation of these birds is often supported by other Municipalities with shoreline parks as when they do recover flight they typically return to their home sites.
Lastly a consideration for managing defecated matter instead of managing the species. This is counter intuitive to wildlife control programs but should be considered in the absence of a reasonable goose control solution.