Published: August 30, 2008 11:18 pm      

OGNIBENE: Goose hunting season opens Monday

The special goose hunting season kicks off Monday and, until it ends Sept. 25, hunters will be allowed eight birds a day. The regular Canada goose hunting season opens Oct. 25, and the limit drops to five a day, but not everywhere in the state. Rather than go through a long explanation of where you can take five migratory geese and where you can take three, go to www.dec.ny.gov and get a copy of the regulations or from a license-issuing agency, if they have any.

In the 2008-09 hunting and trapping guide on pages 72 and 73, you’ll find a map of Wildlife Management Units that will help you to find boundaries between areas where bag limits differ. Changes have been made and you should be aware of where the new boundaries are. The DEC web site will tell you which WMUs allow which limits. It can be a bit confusing, so take your time and study the boundaries carefully. Most of Western New York is included in the five-a-day limit on Canada geese when the regular season opens. The reason for the increase in the bag limit during the regular season is because it’s known migratory and resident geese sometimes mingle for a while before the migrants head south. Whether they are visiting with long lost relatives or not is unknown, but it is impossible to tell a migrating goose from a resident one. The duck hunting season will also open Oct. 25. Your hunting license, HIP number and migratory bird stamp are valid until Oct. 1, when you must renew everything.

Many of us are still wondering why some Canada geese decided to stop migrating and stay in the north. We still have large numbers of migrating geese that stop in our area — namely at the Tonawanda-Iroquois Wildlife swamp east of Lockport — to rest for a short time before continuing south for the winter. The same happens in the spring, when the migrants stop in the swamp to rest and then head for northern Canada to breed. It seems strange, but the migrants keep going, and it’s unlikely many of our resident geese join them. Around the second week of October, the migrants begin appearing and, unlike our resident geese, migrants fly higher and in a more organized manner. Their precise “V” formation seems to be more orderly, and their haunting call reminds us frail humans summer has passed and we should prepare for winter’s onslaught.

The law requires a shotgun that can hold only three shells, one in the chamber and two in the magazine, and most autoloaders come with a wooden plug so you can’t overload. Don’t do what some hunters who should know better do and use shot shells of smaller caliber to act as a plug. I know for a fact that 20-guage shells being used as a plug in a 12-guage gun can detonate when the gun is fired. Luckily, the fellow who stupidly did such a thing had facial bruises and a ruined, brand new A5 Browning shotgun. A simple wooden dowel or stout twig cut to the proper length to fit the tube will work just fine.

A lame duck administration that is partial to big business could wreak havoc on our environment if allowed to go through with what is proposed. The Bush administration wants to give power to governmental agencies to decide if projects they wish to build or issue permits for will endanger any plants, animals or part of our environment. This means the Fish and Wildlife Agency would be ignored and bypassed. Can you imagine how the strip mine industry would react if given the opportunity to walk away from land stripped when the coal runs out by declaring the effect “marginal”? Each agency would be allowed on their own to declare what is or is not a marginal threat to wildlife, plants or environment. Put enough marginal effects together, and it could spell disaster for a large part of the country. With all the hot air coming from both candidates for president, it’s strange nothing such as this is ever mentioned.



- An archery shoot will be held at 9 a.m. Sundays, Sept. 14, 21, 28 and Oct. 5, at the Wilson Conservation Club, Route 425. They will be McKenzie target shoots, 20 of them, and the cost is $5 for members and $8 for non-members. Children 12 and under are free. Food and drinks will be available. The shoots are open to the public. Show up with your bow and target arrows and sharpen your shooting eye for the upcoming season.



- Salmon are beginning to show up in the lower Niagara River and the fishing platform at the base of the Robert Moses Power Plant is as good a spot as any to try. During early-morning hours they can be seen rolling on the surface in Devil’s Hole. With salmon nearing spawning time it won’t be long before the lower gorge becomes the hottest place in town for fishermen. Remember that the level of the river changes rapidly once the intake gates on the upper river are closed. Forget wading out for your fish, the current is swift and ever changing.



- Last week’s bass fishing trip on Lake Erie was slow due to the east wind that was blowing. It must be that the old saying, “fishing is least when wind in the east” is true. Four hours of trying netted two piddling smallmouth, four gobies and a lumpy boat ride. I should have stayed in bed.

Joe Ognibene is a local sportsman who has covered the outdoor scene since 1957.