Lynn councilor goes egg addling to clear geese from Flax Pond

LYNN – There are going to be some very unhappy Canada geese when hatching season comes, but Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi takes a different view.”I see it as 100 less Canada geese causing problems,” he said.Lozzi said he has a permit from the state Department of Fish and Game that allows him to take part in egg addling each spring. Egg addling involves coating goose eggs with a layer of vegetable oil, which blocks oxygen from getting through the shell and smothers the developing chicks, he explained. It works because, with addling, the eggs remain in the nest. Lozzi said if the nest were raided by man or animal the geese would simply lay more eggs.”But there is a small window for them to lay eggs,” he added.By the time the geese realize their addled eggs are not going to hatch, the laying season has passed, Lozzi said.The trick to addling eggs, however, is finding the eggs to addle. Lozzi carries a water bottle in his car filled with vegetable oil. Since he has been treating eggs for seven years he knows where to look for nests but he is also prepared for when residents call for help.On Monday of this week, Lozzi rounded the back side of the tennis courts at the Flax Pond Condominiums and scooted down a short incline toward the edge of Flax Pond where he knew a nest was located.”Resident called me about this one,” he said.Lozzi shooed a large goose off the nest and proceeded to coat the eggs with oil while the bird hissed and waved her wings at him.”As long as she’s on the ground I’m not worried about her,” he said without flinching.He said many of the nests he finds are around the golf course and the pond, and he admits he sticks to Ward 1 when it comes to treating nests.”I offered to do some around the GE property but I never heard back,” he said.While some might take issue with the process, Lozzi argues that it is an accepted practice of controlling the Canada goose population. The Humane Society of the United States refers to it as “the humane way to limit flock growth and stabilize goose populations is to keep eggs from hatching.””When I researched the problem of overpopulation of Canada geese this was the one solution that jumped out at me,” Lozzi said. “It’s easy to see a problem but it’s harder to see the solution. I saw a problem that could be taken care of and now we’ve had 600 fewer geese over the last seven years.”Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].