Volunteers needed for wild goose banding project

June 19, 2025  |  By Waterbury Roundabout

Wild Canada geese are rounded up for banding at the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area in Addison. Vt. Fish & Wildlife photo by Maria Gigliello

Vermont wildlife biologists have put out a call for volunteers to help with an actual wild goose chase that they say can make a difference in helping gather data that tracks the wild bird population. 

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is asking for volunteers to help in rounding up and placing identification bands on the legs of Canada geese at the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area off Vermont Route 17 in Addison on Wednesday, July 2, starting at 8 a.m. 

“We are hoping to have between 30 and 70 individuals volunteer to help,” said Andrew Bouton, state waterfowl biologist. “We request that children be accompanied by adults to help them work with the geese.”

The Canada geese nesting in Vermont today are the result of work begun at Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area in the 1950s by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.  

The geese banded this year will be monitored to gather biological information to help monitor their population. 

Bouton, who works as the state’s Migratory Game Bird Project Leader, explained that each year, every state tries to band about 1% of its resident goose population. “For Vermont, that ends up being about 300-400 geese, which we capture all across the state.  At Dead Creek, we usually capture about 50-100 geese each year, many of which have already been banded,” he said. “All geese will be released back into the wild after we collect data.”

So, how do volunteers and a few state biologists catch 100 wild geese? 

“During late June/early July every year, geese molt their flight feathers and go through a flightless period, which coincides with when the young of the year are still unable to fly,” Bouton explained. “This allows us to basically herd the geese into pens where they are easier to work with.”

Volunteers assist state wildlife biologists with the bird roundup and banding exercise. Vt. Fish & Wildlife photo by Maria Gigliello

Those interested in participating in the effort should call the Fish and Wildlife office in Essex at 802-878-1564; leave your phone number so organizers can make contact should the event be rescheduled due to bad weather.

Participants will meet at the Dead Creek site, past the visitor center at the end of the driveway. Bouton asks all to be prompt in order to start on time. Volunteers should wear appropriate clothes and hiking boots or rubber boots, use sun protection as there will be little shade, and be sure to bring water. 

“Be prepared to walk some in this effort to capture geese for our annual banding efforts that help us track the resident population within Vermont,” Bouton said.