Star City Chief of Police Vic Propst fires The Bird Whistler gun at the Star City boat docks Thursday. The gun’s screeching sound keeps geese away.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Star City Police Department’s whistle gun provides a way to rid the town’s waterfront of pesky water fowl without harming them.
Star City Police Chief Vic Propst demonstrated the town’s countermeasure to unwanted Canada geese Thursday, March 13, at Edith Barill Park. Propst said the town ordered the whistle gun about a year ago and has been the most effective way of keeping geese out of the park.
The Bird Whistler works by using a .22 caliber blank as a charge which sends the bird whistle flying up to 100 feet away depending on angle and wind, Propst said. The whistle itself emits a loud screeching sound, similar to a firecracker.
“We always make sure to fire over the birds so we don’t harm them and, of course, never fire it near humans,” Propst said.