‘Geese at Twilight’
courtesy of

In response to complaints about incessant honking, germ-ridden feathers and excrement-fouled waterways, lawns and sidewalks, Fairfax County is calling on volunteers to help control the growing Canadian geese population in the VA-MD-DC metropolitan region.

This call for volunteers centers around training for the population control process called addling, which according to a quote by Fairfax County Biologist Victoria Monroe in an NBCWashington article, “involves applying oil to [fertilized] goose eggs to prevent embryo development,” then returning the egg to the nest. Upon return, it’s particularly important to convince the mother goose that her egg(s) have not been tampered with, because otherwise she would quickly lay more eggs. Continue reading →