LYNN — Goldfish Pond has had two inflatable “dancing men” installed in order to scare off the ducks and geese that populate the area, according to Goldfish Pond Association President Trish Greene.
The association is attempting to detract birds from the area because it is trying to control the amount of algae in the pond. The birds’ feces increase the algae population in the water. The water company that the association works with treats the water twice a month, but said that decreasing the amount of birds would help.
The birds also tend to “trample” flower beds that have been planted.
Greene said that Goldfish Pond visitors sometimes feed the birds, which is one reason there are so many in the area.
The idea to install the inflatables to scare off the birds came after the association brought a ghost version of the “dancing men” to Goldfish Pond in October for Halloween. At that time there were around 150 mallards and Canada geese at the pond, Greene said.
“When we went out onto the island with the machine and turned it on … unbeknownst to us that the birds were afraid of this, they took off and they flew away. It was not that they just ran off the island, they flew away,” she said.
The association was amazed by this because they had never seen anything else cause that sort of reaction from the birds.
The bird problem continued through the winter — even though geese and ducks are migrating birds — because the season was so mild this year, Greene added.
“We’re talking 300 birds in that small acre of land and it’s too much,” Greene said. “Their feces is all over the sidewalk and there’s no way to even clean that up until it rains.”
Now, the “dancing men” inflatables at Goldfish Pond are set on a timer to go off at the beginning of every hour for five to 10 minutes, eight times a day.
“We didn’t want them to go on all day long because we figured the birds would get used to that pattern, but what’s making them fly away is that initial burst when (the inflatables) start going up,” Greene said.
Another benefit of the “dancing men” is they are a “festive” addition to the area, she added.
She said that so far, this plan is working to keep the birds away.
“It’s not nearly the amount of birds that we’ve had there previously,” Greene said.
