Goose hunt OK'd by state

State officials have authorized a special hunt for snow geese this spring in an attempt to control an exploding population that has damaged fields and nesting areas.

Snow geese in the Brigantine area. Hunters will be allowed to kill an unlimited number of the geese from March 11 to April 18 under a conservation order issued by the state Division of Fish and Wildlife. The number of snow geese in North America has increased to more than 1 million in recent years — twice the ideal population, state officials said.

"They have become exceptionally abundant," said Ted Nichols, a wildlife biologist for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The Hudson Bay Project has created a slideshow depicting damage to the Hudson and James Bay coastal area by the growing mid-continent population of lesser snow geese.

Images of Degradation

The snow geese have also threatened the habitats of a variety of shore birds in New Jersey, Nichols said. Since grain and grass are their main sources of food, the birds have caused serious damage to farms on migration areas in Canada and the United States. "There are stunning photographs of fields that are fenced off from [snow geese]," Nichols said. "You see a vibrant green. Everywhere else looks like a stark desert."

Snow goose hunting was stopped in the eastern part of the United States in 1916 due to low population levels. Hunting was allowed again in 1975 when the population increased. In 1999, President Clinton signed legislation authorizing 24 Midwestern and Southern states to allow the normally-prohibited electronic goose calls and unplugged shotguns to be used during geese season. It also allowed all states to extend the goose hunting season to eliminate as many birds as possible.

The regular goose season usually ends in March and limits hunters to 15 birds a day. Under the order, the geese may not be hunted on Sundays. Hunters are allowed to use electronic calls and may have up to seven shells loaded in their shotguns.

I have no personal experience, but I have been told the problem with snow geese is the great numbers they congregate in. This makes them extremely hard to decoy, or jump shoot [sneak up on] and generally means that the entire mass leaves the area of the blind after one volley of shots.

The answer may be some good old fashioned medium range sniping with quiet, subsonic rounds. However, this practice is not acceptable under game laws.

Anyone with any experience with these buggers have any thoughts?

My dogs are absolutely slavering to take on a Canada.

There are a number of those nasty birds on a high school campus near us -- they set up shop in the pond in front of the administration building and never leave.

Every time I walk my dogs past there they start bounding up and down on the end of the leashes -- "Let me at 'em! Let me at 'em!" They think because they can handle an angry live mallard hen that they can deal with a Canada. They're wrong of course -- at least not without some assistance from my faithful 12 gauge. An irritated and still capable Canada can put some real hurt on a retriever.

My eight-year-old girl is a very small dog for a Lab (43 pounds) but she is a cagey old hunting dog and could probably dodge and grab. My little two-year-old would get absolutely destroyed.

During the 50s and 60s, my dad and brothers would field stalk Canadas. While that technique worked with mallards, the Canadas were so smart and edgy that the number of birds we shot over the years could be counted on two hands. Sometimes our car driving a mile away spooked the buggers. It was the monumental challenge of that method that kept us intrigued by what was a really sporting effort.

Fast forward a few decades. The Canada’s descendents eat out of people’s hands in the downtown park.

Surprising 10,000 mallard flocks in the fields years ago used to impress me. But two years ago I came upon a 5,000 Canada flock gathered on the soccer field of Gonzaga University next to the Spokane River. A walker had intentionally let his dog off his leash, and all 5,000 took off at one time and went over my head onto the the river. The sight and noise was incredible.

Technically speaking they are correctly termed "Canada Geese" - although a lot of people do call them "Canadian Geese".

They aren't the same as Snow Geese, but we don't get snowys here. You'll see them up in the N.J./Chesapeake coastal areas and in Iowa and parts thereabouts. They winter on the W Gulf Coast.

My authority is Roger Tory Peterson's field guide.

I'm familiar with the Geese Police - we have them around here. Border Collies won't actually close with any goose, they just stalk them until they get nervous and leave. If you're persistent in running them off regularly, they'll find greener corporate pastures where they're not harassed constantly (especially if they're nesting).

The problem with retrievers, as opposed to the BCs, is that they WANT to go grab that goose by the back and drag it to your left side, not just stalk it. And my girls really do believe they can do it, but they aren't going to be sent after a goose until I'm sure it's REALLY dead.

As soon as we get a season on non-migratory Canadas in office parks, we will be out there in force.

There's already a program here to donate extra venison and birds to the local homeless shelters.

Some lucky guys got pheasant -- although not under glass!

Problem is that both ducks and geese are a pain to cook properly. Somebody who's poaching the King's Canadas had better have a good hot oven and a large roasting pan (and a bailer ... those things are GREASY!)

They fly in flocks of tens of thousands. They can be seen for miles as they make as black streak in the sky. Yep they are very hard to sneak but boy ole boy if you get a sneak if your have a pan shot and will get alot. But it is a very physical hunt. Sneak down muddy water filled drainage ditches. That is what we do. We watch they sky and go after them. If you find them and put them to bed and get up early and do your sneaking before the sun rises then you have a good chance.

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