Canada geese population fast rising

Submitted photo/ Billed as the World's Largest Canada Goose, this structure was a project by the town of Sumner, Mo., during the nation's Bicentennial celebration.

Although the duck season in the north zone has ended and will close in the middle zone on Dec. 30, the south zone will continue through Jan 25.

Canada goose hunters will see their season run through Jan. 31.

Recently, I was reminded of how hunting for Canada geese has changed over the years. As a youngster, I remember if a hunter shot a Canada goose, it was a big deal, like a once-in-a lifetime event.

Ken White/Daily Mail/ A flock of Canada geese take flight on the Schell-Osage Conservation Area after the recent snow.

Missouri had no Swan Lake or Squaw Creek National Waterfowl refuges that drew the big birds. The population of Canada geese was low and hard for hunters to find. Today, the population of these big birds has exploded. In fact, in many areas they have become a nuisance.

There was the case of neighbor against neighbor when it came to the geese on the Lakewood subdivision in Lee's Summit.

At a meeting called by the Lakewood Homeowners Association, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials, along with the Missouri Conservation Department were invited to help work out a problem with the geese.

Submitted photo/ Ethan Gotheer of Fair Play, with a pair of Canada geese on his first goose hunt earlier this season.

One neighbor was feeding the geese and the neighbor across the street wasn't happy with the mess the birds were causing, so they wanted to find a solution. They wanted to keep 20 to 25 birds around the lake because they looked so nice flying over the water and swimming in the lake. However, because the resident flock kept attracting migrating birds, the population exploded to hundreds of birds enjoying the free handouts.

Finally, after hearing the desire for a small number of geese on the lake, but not a large number of resident birds, the officials explained that the residents couldn't have just a small number of geese, it had to be a lot or none. Seeing there would be no easy solution to the problem, the conservation officials left.

In other cases, people in metropolitan areas were seeing the geese cause problems around area lakes and golf courses.

At Lake Jacomo, people were bringing loaves of bread to feed the geese causing traffic tie-ups and making a mess around the marina. Park officials tried different ways to discourage the birds, but nothing seemed to work.

The population of geese looking for a hand-out from park visitors grew to hundreds of Canada geese. At nearby Smithville, the geese were making a big mess on the golf course, so a hunting season on the geese was opened. All this was the downside of the growth in numbers of the Canada goose in Missouri.

Meanwhile, as the number of geese grew, the number of goose hunters also grew. When the Swan Lake National Wildlife refuge opened for hunting, hunters flocked to the Sumner area to take advantage of the opportunity to bag a goose. This year, the Sumner Goose Festival Association held their 60th annual Wild Goose Festival in what they call the "Wild Goose Capital of the World."

The honking of thousands of Canada geese filled the air the first time I hunted geese on a good private blind that bordered Swan Lake. Throughout the morning, the roar of the geese never stopped.

It was a cold and damp December morning, perfect for waterfowl hunting. After setting out a dozen decoys, we settled in the blind. It didn't take long before the geese started leaving the protection of the refuge and flying out to feed. A small flock headed our way, passing over the decoys about 30 yards in front. The three hunters popped open the blind and stated shooting. Three of the big Canada geese fell near the blind and our hunt was over. The limit was one bird each. We stayed for awhile just to listen and watch the birds fly back and forth from the refuge. It was a scene that stays with you for a long time.

Today, the hunting activity and harvest remain high in Missouri. The outlook for the remainder of the goose season is positive as the population of these geese remains healthy.