Chandler Pond Blog
Can you identify the Eagle, Swan, Hawk, Blue Heron, Osprey and Common Merganser in these photos our neighbors have taken this spring?
Watch for these birds on your walks around the pond!
Have you taken a photo of wildlife around Chandler Pond? Share it with us! Follow us and Tweet it to us at @Chandler_Pond
Though many people think of a pond as being an idyllic setting for Canada Geese they do not belong in an urban, shallow pond, like Chandler Pond. It takes only one goose on a one acre pond to overload the water with phosphorous, creating algae blooms that deprive the water of oxygen, killing fish and other aquatic life. The geese are also extremely territorial pushing out other water fowl that would be native to a small pond.
In 2015, then Boston Parks Commissioner Christopher Cook, came to Chandler Pond to address the issue of the geese overtaking the pond and park. At the time there were over 200 geese at the pond and Cook stated that this was the highest concentration of geese in the city of Boston. He acknowledged that the park was unusable as he walked around the pond stepping in and around geese droppings the entire way. He agreed that if Friends of Chandler Pond could find a solution, Boston Parks and Recreation would support it.
In 2017, with the support of Boston Parks, our Friends group raised funds to implement a Border Collie program, similar to the one used at the National Mall in Washington D.C.
The Border Collies are trained dogs that mimic the behavior of a predatory threat. They are brought to the pond several times a week to stalk the geese but do do not harm them. Eventually the geese leave the pond after realizing the Border Collie's will be a constant threat. This method of mitigation is approved by the Humane Society of America. The first year of the program saw an 80 percent reduction in the geese population. The following year, the reduction was 90% of the original number with 3 months in the summer being virtually geese-free. This reduction in numbers has greatly improved the use of the Park as the sidewalks are now clear and a variety of bird species have returned as well as improvement in the water quality supporting other aquatic life.
We will continue to try and fund this vital program and ask that people please not feed the geese. The damage they cause goes far beyond aesthetics and is a real threat to the long term viability of the pond.
