Fowl Play, or why does the RA hate cute furry feathered critters?

First, the Reston Association came for the gophers. Now they're doing something that, quite frankly, sounds like it might violate indecency statutes with the geese -- some perverted practice called "goose egg addling."

Addling is a term used for rubbing oil on eggs in an effort to keep them from hatching. It is widely done as a form of humane population control for resident Canada geese.

Geez, a pagan/phallic May pole ceremony here, a good old-fashioned goose addling there, and all of the sudden, Reston is starting to look like Berkeley, ca. 1969! You'd think the open-minded folk who first came to Reston during that storied decade would be all over that, but apparently not.

Dave Janiga of the Wildlife Rescue League said last week that he has fielded some phone calls from Reston residents who say they are concerned that the procedure is being done too late in the development cycle, and others who have witnessed Reston staff remove entire nests.

“My concern is that some people who live on Lake Audubon have seen nests that sit for long periods of time with eggs in them before they are attended to, and some told me they are seeing entire nests being removed by Reston Association staff. I am concerned that some of those eggs have developing geese in them and that they are removing the entire nests and destroying them from time to time,” he said.

What's good for the goose is... oh, never mind.