Though efforts to harass a group of about a dozen geese settled at Hedgehog Park seem to be disturbing the birds, Salem Recreation Director Chris Dillon said the flock could stay put until the end of the month while they finish molting their feathers.

“Generally they are startled,” Dillon said. “You can see at different times that they want to fly, but unfortunately they molted their flying feathers and can’t.”

A wildlife specialist from the U.S. Department of Agriculture met with Dillon, arming him with a few tools to get the geese out. Now two plastic balls with “scary eyes” are strategically placed around Hedgehog Pond, which Dillon said are meant to scare the geese away from the water.

Dillon also stretched a strip of reflective Mylar tape along the left-hand side of the pond where the geese are most active to further unsettle the flock. And twice a day, Dillon visits the pond and shoots off noisy pyrotechnics called “bangers” and “smashers” to further scare the birds.

Droppings from the dozen birds are at least part of what has caused elevated E. coli levels at the pond for the last two and a half weeks, said Salem Health Officer Brian Lockhard. But, he said, the birds are not the only culprits.

“You could call it the perfect storm for poor water quality,” Lockhard said. “The hot weather, lack of precipitation and the geese all probably are factors.”

A routine water sample of Hedgehog Pond on July 6 showed high concentrations of E. coli bacteria, more than four times greater than the state standard, Lockhard said. The beach has remained closed since then.

The state issues a bacteria advisory when E. coli levels rise above 88 colonies per 100 milliliters of water, Lockhard said. Hedgehog Pond’s July 6 sample contained more than 400 colonies of the bacteria, he said.

Lockhard has continued sampling the pond several times each week and has seen levels fluctuate somewhat, he said. On July 23, the most recent samples showed an 88-colony count on the left side of the pond and a 200- colony count on the right.

“This is unusual to have such elevated levels for this long,” Lockhard said. “I’ve had other beaches with elevated levels over the years – Arlington Pond and Millville (Lake) – but it’s unusual that one beach like this has remained so high.”

Lockhard said he will be unavailable for testing next week, but scientists from the state Department of Environmental Services have agreed to come and sample Hedgehog Pond this week.

But until levels drop and the beach is reopened, Lockhard said the town will continue its routine.

“We’ll just continue testing,” he said. “We’ll continue our efforts to try to harass these geese to keep them our of the beach area.”