Early birds take wing

APPLETON, MINN. - Eight Canada geese cruised wing tip to wing tip over the lake, then banked toward our rocky little island and the dozen decoys bobbing just off shore.

"They're coming!" I said.

Five of us hunkered among green willows, cradling shotguns. Phil Thomsen of Minneapolis called plaintively to the geese. They locked their huge wings and glided toward us.

Three hunters unloaded a volley of gunshots, and two geese splashed to the water.

It was the beginning of another September Canada goose season, and the smell of gunpowder and sound of geese honking filled the air. While our group only bagged those two birds, we enjoyed a glorious sunrise in the blind, the sight of ducks and geese winging over water, the sweet smell of the marsh.

All delivered a month before the regular waterfowl season.

The special September Canada goose seasons started in 1987 as a metro-area hunt to reduce the then-burgeoning Canada goose population. As the goose numbers grew statewide, so did the hunt. It now includes the entire state.

And while duck numbers have trended toward slim in recent years, a steady Canada goose population continues to offer Minnesota waterfowlers early hunting opportunities.

"They're big and fun to shoot and taste good," said Steve Cordts, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources waterfowl specialist and avid duck and goose hunter.

"Initially the intent was to reduce goose numbers," he said. "Now it's turned into an opportunity for hunters."

Minnesota hunters have been killing about 286,000 Canada geese yearly, and about 91,000 of those are harvested in September, Cordts said.

The giant Canada goose, of course, is one of the great wildlife success stories. Once thought extinct, Minnesota's goose population exploded in the 1980s and 1990s, helped when officials trapped excess geese in the Twin Cities metro area and transplanted them around the state.

These days, the spring breeding population of the state's resident geese have been hovering around 300,000, despite more liberal hunting opportunities. Metro goose numbers have been steady at 17,500 the past four years, down from 20,000 earlier.

The harvest fell substantially last year, according to DNR and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) estimates. The decline likely occurred because of poor reproduction last spring because of a cold snap, Cordts said.

The DNR estimated a harvest of 244,000; the FWS estimated 203,000. (State and federal officials conduct their waterfowl harvest surveys differently, and the numbers almost never match, though the trends correlate.)

The September goose harvest in the metro area has remained steady at about 11,000 the past four years.

A bigger concern, Cordts said, is a decline in the number of goose hunters in Minnesota. The DNR estimated there were 63,000 last year, the lowest in 15 years and 16,000 fewer than only five years ago. Federal officials estimated there were 56,400 goose hunters last year, about 10,000 fewer than 2002.

There were 25,000 September goose hunters in 2007, down 5,000 from 2003.

The decline mirrors an overall drop in waterfowl hunter numbers, a trend wildlife officials blame on a decline of youths replacing aging hunters. Urbanization and youths spending more leisure time in organized sports or with electronic games are among the factors often cited.

They've been missing some action.

Waterfowl guide Phil Schmidt of Waverly, Minn., said goose hunting has been excellent near Monticello and Hutchinson. "Last year was the best season we ever had, and this year we're blowing it out of the water," he said.

Other reports have been mixed. The September season ends Monday.