Officials question residents after geese eggs destroyed

INDIANAPOLIS -- State wildlife officials are investigating two condominium residents who, fed up with bird droppings, allegedly destroyed the nests of federally protected Canada geese.\nThe nest attacks at Hidden Bay on Indianapolis' northwest side angered other residents, including Sharon Haskins, who said she watched the nest destruction.\n"It made me sick, literally sick," said Haskins.\nHaskins said she saw two female neighbors walk to the edge of the complex's lake Sunday with a dog and begin harassing the geese while the dog barked at the waterfowl.\nThe women then used a stick to push about a dozen eggs from two nests into the water, Haskins said.\nWhen some of the residents questioned the two women afterward, the discussion quickly turned into a heated argument. Haskins said one of the women is trying to sell her vacant condo and didn't want the geese nesting so close to her unit.\nThe other complained about health dangers from goose droppings.\nWith goose nesting in full swing, conservation officers are kept busy investigating nest destruction cases, said Angela Goldman, a conservation officer looking into the incident.\n"This is the main thing we do," Goldman said.\nCanada geese, estimated to number more than 100,000 in Indiana, are the bane of golf courses and subdivision ponds due to their droppings and territorial behavior.\nBut it is illegal to destroy goose nests, which are protected under the federal migratory bird act. Violators face up to a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.