Looking out for their daffy friends

Deirdre Newman

The honking of geese at TeWinkle Park is a familiar counterpart to

the soft gurgling of water in the lakes.

But some residents are concerned that the honking will take on a

desperate tone later this summer when the city starts renovating

those lakes. They fear the geese and other birds that don’t migrate

will be left high and dry.

The city is waiting until the birds’ nesting season is over to

start the renovation, as required by the state Department of Fish and

Game. But that’s not enough to appease geese fans, including Heidi

Hansen, owner of a pet grooming facility in the city. So, they are

meeting with city officials next week to discuss how they can help

relocate the birds that are left behind.

“Even though they’re going to wait, there’s still going to be a

ton of birds that are not going to fly away and those are the ones

that everyone is worried about in the community,” Hansen said.

“Because they’re not going to have any water and they’re not going to

have any food.”

The birds’ nesting season runs from about March 16 to Aug. 16, so

the city will wait until the end of the summer to start renovations,

city engineer Ernesto Munoz said. The full-scale improvements of the

lakes include adding additional and more powerful pumps, adding new

biofilters and upgrading electrical systems.

Since Fish and Game hasn’t imposed any requirements on the birds

that stay, the city is not taking any precautions for them, Munoz

said.

“We’re going strictly on Fish and Game’s requirements,” Munoz

said.

Hansen and others worry that draining the lakes will open up a

host of risks for the birds that are staying.

“My main concern is when they drain these ponds, there will be a

little water left at the bottom,” Hansen said. “There will be fishing

hooks and fishing lines. These birds will have no water. Their

instincts will tell them to go to the bottom of the ponds and they’ll

get tangled. They might go to residential neighborhoods and get hit

by cars.”

The two large lakes will be drained individually and fenced off,

Munoz said.

One option for taking care of the birds that stay is finding

foster homes for them, Hansen said. Debbie McGuire, director of

wildlife rehabilitation at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in

Huntington Beach has offered the center’s facility to house the

birds, as long as the city covers the costs of their shelter and

care.

The city is open to working with Hansen and her fellow friends of

the geese to take care of the birds that are left behind, said Ron

Molendyk, Fairview Park plan administrator.