In the video above, Aneesa Coomer reports on the annual roundup of geese and ducks at Gibson Pond on Friday, October 18, 2024.
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The domestic ducks and geese at the Gibson Park pond aren’t equipped to withstand the winter weather, and need to be housed indoors. Families lined the outskirts of the Gibson Pond on Friday morning to watch Park & Recreation staff wade into the water and start corralling the waterfowl towards the end of the pond and into a transfer cage.
The roundup is an annual event, and Park & Recreation manager Kevin Vining explained, “It gives the guys a chance to get out and do something different than they've been doing all season long. It's fun for them to go out there, get in the pond and shoo the ducks down and gives them a chance to get out of their daily routine and have fun. Folks come on down and and visit and and get a chance to watch the guys do it."
Park & Rec staff start at the north end of the pond, and slap the water with rakes to keep the ducks moving toward the other end.
Parks foreman James Rentfro has been involved in the roundup for the past 25 years. He noted, “You don't want to press the ducks. If you get too big of a gap, they will try and shoot that gap, and we don't want to have to try and do it over and over again. There's been a couple times when we've had to do it two or three times."
Luckily, Park & Rec staff only had to walk through the pond once this year.
Rentfro says this is partly due to there being fewer ducks and geese in the pond: “The numbers being lower than we've normally had before, it was a lot easier. The guys were able to crowd them a little bit better there towards the end. They’re starting to get older, we haven't had a chance to really replenish them, get the numbers back up. Hopefully we can do that in the future."
The ducks and geese will be housed in their indoor quarters at the north end of Gibson Park, dubbed the “Honker Hilton”. Park & Recreation will care for them daily, feeding and watering them while keeping them warm until they’re released back into the pond in April.
