Chicago scrambles for Canada geese eggs

CHICAGO, March 21 (UPI) -- The Chicago Park district is recruiting volunteers to make life for Canada geese downright lonely by hunting down their nests and destroying eggs.

The city has been grappling with a growing number of the large birds that thrive because of a warming climate, people who feed them, and the favorite grasses they like to eat, the Chicago Tribune reports.

There are signs warning people against feeding the birds -- which can become aggressive -- and grasses around ponds have been replaced with a variety they don't like, and other grasses have even been sprayed with a digestive irritant.

But now, the egg hunt is on.

The city put out a contract on the eggs with Wild Goose Chase, a licensed company that helps reduce goose numbers by finding nests and rendering the eggs unhatchable, either by coating them with corn oil or by shaking them.

Volunteers will be trained on how to find nests and will accompany licensed workers who will handle the eggs, the report said.

Fines from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for unlicensed people removing nests or eggs can run up to thousands of dollars, the newspaper said.