Light goose numbers in southern and central Saskatchewan increased over the past week. Hunter success has been down and hunting difficult due to the abundance of sheet water in the fields, a slow melt and even some fresh snow in areas of the Province. While the abundance of snow and precipitation will be a boon for ducks this nesting season, the delays in the light goose migration will surely compress the number of hunting days until the season’s close.
Hello folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
As hunting under the Conservation Order in the Continental United States fades with the northern migration, the hunting community turns a watchful eye to waterfowl nesting areas and spring habitat reports. As the clock ticks down to the start of the May Breeding and Habitat Survey, both biologists and waterfowl hunters are hopeful the reports will turn in record numbers.
Spring waterfowl surveys are amongst the most extensive undertakings in wildlife management. Each year aerial and ground survey teams conduct a trek along the survey transects in waterfowl breeding areas across the U.S. and Canadian counting ponds and then breeding pairs. The resulting data is then used to calculate the health and size of the waterfowl population and set annual harvest regulations. Without the annual surveys waterfowl hunting seasons cannot be conducted.
In July 2010, the Fish and Wildlife service announced the arrival of nine new Kodiak floatplanes that would be used in the annual waterfowl surveys. Waterfowl hunters and wildlife enthusiasts can follow the reports from the pilots of these new planes, along with ground survey reports on Flyways.us again this season. These flight logs/blogs are real-time reports from the field survey teams that feature updated observations and images from the breeding grounds. The reports are posted throughout the month of May and readers can also read archived reports form previous years.
Waterfowler.com reminds our readers that WFC Classifieds and National-Trade-A-Hunt postings are a great way to expand your hunting opportunity and value within our community. Take advantage of these services and post a listing today.
Until our next report, remember the off-season is short and early teal season is just over four months away.
