Snow Geese
Phil Taunton
Friday, February 22, 2008
Alas! Poor Wifeus.
I am very proud of her knowledge of the Outdoors but never dreamed she would fall for this one. After nearly 40 years of marriage, a fellow must try to keep an edge any way he can!
Geese are known to fly in V formations, and some species migrate great distances from breeding grounds up north on the tundra to wintering areas on the gulf shores of Texas and Louisiana and back to the tundra in the spring. It makes sense they would like to save all the energy they can.
Last weekend, while coming home from a visit with the grandkids, the sky was just full of light and dark geese alike: flock after flock after flock. Some of the dark geese, such as the Canada, will become resident of our area, breed and raise goslings here, while the snow goose will return to the tundra region of Canada.
I simply asked Wifeus if she knew why one arm of the V formation is longer than the other. After pondering this for quite a while and offering several suggestions, she gave up without once thinking the simple answer: There are more geese in that particular arm of the V!
Light Goose
Conservation Order
The migratory bird season for 2007 and 2008 has all but closed with the ending of the dark goose (Canada, and white front) season last Sunday.
Light geese, and by this I mean the white and blue phase of the snow goose and the Ross goose, can be hunted in regard to a conservation order until April 30. Just what is a conservation order, and why has it been applied to snow geese? Snow goose populations have reached record-high numbers. I once saw a steady migration of the birds while I was switching cars in the BNSF yards in Emporia. These flocks followed a line from Hartford to as far as I could see towards the northwest, wave after wave of geese for more than an hour.
The snow goose population is so large it has exceeded the carrying capacity of its breeding grounds. The tundra can’t support all the geese.
Around 1999, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a spring light goose conservation order, I saw a short video called, ‘Snow Geese in Peril.’ This film showed the consequences of having such a large population of any one species exceeding the carrying capacity of the land. Besides eating themselves out of house and home, snow geese also were dying of disease. The tundra is a fragile ecosystem and also will be slow to recover from the damage the geese are inflicting on it.
This spring conservation order relaxes the normal hunting regulations concerning waterfowl. Shooting hours are from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset. Hunters are allowed to use unplugged shotguns and electronic calls. Until April 30, there is no bag or possession limit, meaning you can harvest as many as you want.
The goal of the management effort started in 1999 is to protect the welfare of the snow goose population by reducing its numbers roughly 50 percent.
Snow geese are extremely wary, alert and suspicious. They can be a challenge to hunt. Besides traveling in large flocks, some of these birds might be 20 years old and have literally “seen it all!”
The Kansas Wildlife and Parks building on Merchant Street north of the college has a free pamphlet called “Hunting Snows in the Spring.” This pamphlet also tells you how to take care of the game once you harvest it. One recipe you might want to try is the following recipe, courtesy of Bill Lenhart of Bethany, Missouri.
Skewered Snow Goose
4 snow geese, filleted, cut into 1” cubes
8 slices bacon, cut in thirds
Liquid Barbecue Smoke
1 large jar Italian salad dressing
Worcestershire sauce
Seasoning salt
Marinate goose pieces in a mixture of Italian dressing, liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce for 24 hours in a covered non-metal bowl in the refrigerator.
Drain marinade and sprinkle all pieces with seasoning salt.
Wrap each fillet piece with a bacon piece and secure with a toothpick or skewer pin. Cook on barbecue grill for about 30 minutes (until bacon is cooked).
Bill suggests using barbecue sauce, cocktail sauce or horseradish for dips.
Birding 101
I can count 9 bird nests in the now leafless bushes in my yard. Shrubs such as Nanking Cherry, Dwarf–winged euonymus and cotoneaster hold the majority of these cardinal, brown thrasher and catbird nests.
One bird I would like to get to nest and raise their young in the yard is the Carolina Wren. These neat little birds have been coming to my feeders all winter.
Does anyone have any “sure fire” tips on how to get them to nest in your yard? I would imagine they are cavity dwellers or will nest in pots.
I can be reached at ptaunton@cableone.net and would appreciate any information concerning the Carolina Wren.