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We’re each afforded our own perspective on the beginning of spring.

Sports fans point toward baseball’s spring training, turkey hunters anxiously await the April 9 gobbler season opener, and you could fill up pages with other events or notable milestones that people consider as an unofficial arrival of spring

The calendar, of course, says spring begins on March 20 this year, but it’s anybody’s guess whether it will actually feel like spring or winter.

March begins a transition for many hunters, anglers and all who are ready to start wiping off mud on the garage rug instead of dusting snow off the bottom of your jeans. No doubt we’ll have plenty of mud because of all the snow that will melt in the coming weeks, but it’s just a small inconvenience as we transition out of winter.

The spring snow goose conservation season is already open, but the snowline, not the opening day, is the limiting factor for those ready to ring in spring with a light goose hunt. If you were licensed to hunt waterfowl last fall, you are good to go with that license, or, you can purchase a 2011 license online now. Either way, you also need a 2011 Harvest Information Program registration, which is also good for the fall.

Also in terms of hunting, March 12 won’t really find coffee shops and gas stations buzzing with hunters, but it does mark the opening of spring crow season and the last day before we need to set our clocks ahead.

As for winter fishing, marginal ice formation in some places, along with excessive snow, challenged even the most hardcore anglers, but those who did plant their permanent house on the ice are reminded that March 15 is the deadline to remove those unattended ice shelters.

The season for ice fishing doesn’t close, but ice shacks not in use cannot be legally left on the ice. Even if you are certain you plan to get out the next day, don’t take a chance as variable weather patterns can turn decent ice into a potential death trap of slush or even open water in short order.

Speaking of deadlines and reminders, March 30 is the deadline for applying for the 2011 fall moose, elk and bighorn sheep lotteries. The Game and Fish Department’s online application feature at gf.nd.gov should be available soon, as should paper applications at the usual license vendors.

While I’m intending to enjoy every sunburn and mosquito bite I can muster this year, it’s not too early to start thinking about fall prospects, and taking care of a little paperwork now could lead to a once-in-a-lifetime North Dakota hunting opportunity in six or seven months.

Finally, if you’re like me you’ve got two North Dakota Outdoors calendars and one is turned a month ahead. If so, you’ll see a sure sign of spring – the announcement that April 1 is the beginning of a new fishing year and therefore a new fishing license is required.

Indeed, I’ll be more than happy to slip last year’s license into the desk drawer along with those from previous years. Like many of you, I save them. For what? I don’t know, but the stowing of an old license is one of those benchmarks that convinces me spring is here — even if it doesn’t look or feel like it.

Leier is a biologist with the Game & Fish Department. He can be reached by email:dleier@nd.gov

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Spring geese getting in migration mode

The variables of each hunt, whether from day-to-day, season to season or species to species, are like fingerprints between humans – no two are ever the same.

Sure, there are similarities, like spending opening day with the usual crew in the same field year after year. But the unique aspect of hunting assures each outing will go down in history with its very own combination of location, weather, companions and game activity

That said, hunting seasons and outings also have a lot of similarities. Hunters have grown accustomed to warding off mosquitoes in the early weeks of archery deer season, and fighting wind and sun on opening weekend for grouse, because we’ve been there enough to know what to expect.

It’s starting to get that way with the spring snow goose conservation season, which opens Feb. 19. When the first spring snow goose season was held in 1999, hunters were faced with a huge learning curve. All the years of snow goose hunting wisdom accumulated during fall seasons sort of went out the window.

Now, with six years of spring hunting in the books, hunters have been able to start piecing together some trends that can help with future preparation.

Hunters the first few years learned one important indicator for the spring migration is snow cover. The first thing to key on is the snow pack and snow line it doesn’t matter when the season opens, the birds will push forward with the receding snow line.

Being where snow geese stage is key

As in, snow geese will not move into an area when there’s still consistent snow cover. In most years in North Dakota, the snow leaves between the third week in March and second week in April, and the timing varies depending on whether you’re in the southern or northern part of the state. That’s a wide window if you’re trying to plan a couple of days to chase snow geese.

Fall hunts can be gauged with a little more historical accuracy with weather conditions and migration patterns. Days that gradually grow shorter, wetlands freezing, and the first snow covering food supplies all work together to move the snow goose migration south in a methodical fashion.

The spring season opens in mid-February on the off-chance that a mild, snow-free winter might prompt a few snow geese to work this far north. In most years the opener is just a date on the calendar that ensures that whenever the first birds arrive, the season will be open. A couple of times over the past six years, that hasn’t occurred until late March.

During the spring of 2000 heavy snow pack in South Dakota kept birds from advancing north until April. At the same time, southern portions of North Dakota were essentially bare so when the birds did get past the South Dakota snow block, they migrated through North Dakota at full speed.

Then again, most of southern North Dakota is currently snow free, which could mean an early influx of the white birds. It all depends on the weather over the next few weeks.

That’s why predicting spring migrations is tricky at best. Think of it as dropping a marble on the kitchen table and predicting which way it will roll. Biologically speaking, snow geese feeding patterns in spring will target large shallow expanses of water, referred to as sheet water, that provide nutrients for the upcoming nesting season.

The large bodies of water on which snow geese often stage in fall are the last to freeze. They are also the last to thaw in spring, so as a general rule spring hunters don’t need to scout lakes that held geese late in the fall. Instead, search more for large expanses of sheet water which tend to draw snow geese during spring.

Another tip is to remain ready and mobile. It seems when lead flocks of birds begin moving into the state, the route will be somewhat the same for much of the migration. Even then, just when you think you’ve figured out their pattern, they’ll move south, east, west — anything but north. It’s all part of the hunting experience.

One last reminder, as in any hunting season, take extra care when the spring hunt finds you on a muddy road. Chances are, under those conditions geese won’t be easy to access anyway, and wet conditions make roads prone to rutting. It may mean walking an extra mile in, or using your second best option for a field hunt, but courtesy and respect should be at the top of the list.

Here’s wishing you success during the 2005 spring conservation snow goose season—whenever it arrives.

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Lesser Snow Goose is one of three species of snow geese; the other two are the Ross’s Goose and Greater Snow Goose. All three species are migratory waterfowl that fly south each year for the winter and then back north to the arctic tundra in the spring to reproduce. The life history traits of the lesser snow goose will be examined to understand their evolutionary changes in the presence of man. Snow geese have interesting mate selection practices which lead to complex gene flow patterns between populations. It is essential to evaluate snow goose fecundity, survival rates and clutch size to gain a better understanding of this dynamic species. In order to understand the changing behavioral patterns in lesser snow geese populations, we must thoroughly evaluate their complex and adaptive population ecology and population genetics.

The Lesser Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens caerulescens, weighs about 5.5 to 5.9 pounds. Until as recently as 1961 it was thought that the blue goose was a separate species, but it is now known that “blues” and “snows” are actually the same species. This rare trait is known as “plumage dimorphism” and is found in only a few other bird species (Batt 1998). Blue Geese and Snow Geese nest in mixed colonies and often breed to produce viable offspring. The white-phase lesser snow goose is all white except for its primary flight feathers, which are all black due to the pigment melanin. The pigment melanin increases structural strength and reduces wear to these feathers. Young white-phase geese are a gray-blue color their first year, then they get their adult plumage. The blue-phase lesser snow goose has a white head and the body is a combination of gray, blue, silver, brown and white, giving it a silvery-blue appearance from a distance. The young blue-phase geese are a mottled gray all over for their first year. Both color phases have pink legs and bills as adults and gray bills and yellow legs as adolescents. A distinctive grinning patch is present on the bills of adults in both color phases.

Lesser snow geese are long lived birds, up to 20 years of age that mate for life and do not breed as yearlings (Francis et al. 1992). Mate selection occurs in their wintering grounds and is finalized on the migration back north to their breeding grounds. Breeding between color phases is common, however it depends on the color of the females parents. This means that a female lesser snow goose will mate with a male white goose if its parents were white and it will mate with a male blue goose if its parents are blue geese. Similarly, if the female came from mixed colored parents it will mate with either a blue or white phase male (Cooke et al. 1995). Female lesser snow geese are philopatric returning to the same breeding colonies at a high frequency each year and bring their mate there with them regardless of their mate’s original colony (Kuznetsov et al. 1998). According to a study done by Cooke and his co-authors, they banded 27,341 females and 28,448 males as fledglings at the La Perouse Bay colony between 1969 and 1990, of which 2082 females (7.6 percent) and only 79 males (0.3 percent) were reencountered at the breeding colony ages two and older. This confirms a significant female based philopatry while males exhibit no significant philopatry (Cooke et al. 1995). Breeding pairs will also return to the same area as previous years, which can be detrimental to breeding success due to recent degradation of most breeding grounds (Francis et al.1992).

This degradation of habitat didn’t always exist. In fact, in 1969 there were less than a million lesser snow geese and every year the tundra could recover from the feeding behaviors on the nesting areas_¹. Now, however, with more than 6 million snow geese, the nesting grounds are being destroyed at a rate much faster than they can recover (Ben-Ari 1998). It is estimated that one-third of the suitable nesting areas have been converted into salt plains and mud flats, another third is badly degraded with the remaining third heavily grazed but not yet damaged (Cooch et al. 2001). This rapid change in population size has occurred due to several reasons, including post World War II agriculture, reduced hunting pressure and the establishment of wildlife refuges.

Picture of an enclosure protecting habitat from lesser snow geese in La Perouse Bay and the surrounding area has been destroyed by feeding lesser snow geese in their breeding grounds

The increase in the population size of lesser snow geese is due in large part to the post World War II agricultural developments. Before these developments the snow geese would fly from there breeding grounds in the north all the way to their wintering areas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. When the geese arrived there they had low fitness and affects of density dependency would keep the flocks at low level. Then, in the 1950’s the salt marshes where the geese wintered were seriously degraded and they were forced to find other food sources. This caused the geese to move inland to rice fields and other agricultural fields were they had plenty of food. Also, with new farming practices crop residue was left behind for the geese to feed on in route to and from there breeding grounds, resulting in increased survival rates of adult geese. This in turn gave the geese increased ability for reproduction when they returned to their breeding grounds. In essence the geese were given an unlimited food supply during migrations enabling the population to soar (Ben-Ari 1998). Several other factors have helped to increase the population of lesser snow geese. Wildlife refuges have been established by federal and local agencies to protect and restore wildlife habitat. These refuges provide safe havens from hunters along with additional food sources for the geese. The hunting of snow geese has also declined in recent years because hunting these large flocks is very difficult and the notion that snow geese are not good table fare. Another factor is an expansion of the breeding range of the lesser snow geese since the 1920’s. This increase in range occurred because of unusually cold temperatures in the northern breeding colonies, forcing the geese to nest farther south (Ben-Ari 1998). These behavioral changes in the life history of lesser snow geese have given rise to their sharp population explosion due to an increase in annual survival rates of adult geese. As a result more geese were able to survive until reproductive age and contribute young to the ever increasing population.

This trend can only last so long, because the survival rate for juvenile geese has sharply declined. Now, because so much of their breeding grounds have been destroyed when the young geese are born they have a reduced chance of surviving to reproductive age. This occurs because of malnourishment of the hatchlings, with less food available in the breeding grounds young starve to death or are too weak to make the annual migration south. Another factor that contributes to this decrease reproduction, is the fact that since the breeding grounds are so degraded females are venturing further away from the prime breeding grounds to raise their young. When their babies hatch parents take them to feed in areas that the food isn’t as nourishing or even inedible to young geese (Cooch et al. 2001).

The ability for a long lived herbivorous geese population to increase depends on the age of first reproduction and success rates for different age groups to produce offspring that survive to reproduce. Lesser snow geese generally reproduce for the first time in their second year and all geese that have survived to their fourth year have attempted to reproduce, with nesting success increasing after their first attempt (Cooke et al.1995). The typical clutch size for lesser snow geese is four eggs and this has been declining according to a study done by Cooke between 1973 and 1984. The average number of eggs in a clutch early in the study was five. This decline may be due to the decrease in food for the breeding female on the breeding grounds before laying eggs. In this study they also found that the optimum number of eggs to produce is six. This gives the geese the best chance for at least some of their young to survive their first year. With increased brood size, young geese have a better chance of surviving predation and an increase in at least some of the eggs hatching. The decline in clutch size is strongly dependent on per nutrient availability over time despite the directional selection favoring birds that lay larger clutches (Cooke et al. 1995). In a study by Charles Francis he evaluated the average survival rate of different age groups of snow geese at the La Perouse Bay colony. In this study it was determined that the annual mortality rate is about 58% for newly fledged goslings most of which occurs before they leave the nesting areas. It is estimated that birds have about a 20% mortality rate due to hunting in their first year. In contrast, adult birds experience about 11% mortality from hunting and a total mortality of about 18%. The mortality rate of 18% doesn’t drop off due to senescence for at least the first 10-15 years of age and it is estimated that fewer then 5% of lesser snow geese will survive to that age (Francis et al. 1992). So if the geese can survive their first year there is a high probability that they will survive to reproduce. From this data it is easy to see how the lesser snow goose population has dramatically increased and if the trend continues we will be face with an ecological disaster.

If the population of lesser snow geese continues to rise they will destroy all of their suitable nesting habitat and 10s of millions of fledgling geese will starve to death as the population gets older and this will lead to an eventual population collapse. The lesser snow goose is not the only species that is in dire straits. Many other species of plants and animals rely on the same breeding grounds and have already begun to suffer serious declines (Batt 1998). We are faced with the question of how to bring this population back down to levels where the breeding grounds can support the population. Several methods have already been implemented to reduce population size such as increased bag limits and spring hunts. Studies have been done on greater snow geese (Chen caerulescens atlantica) showing that a spring hunt can reduce the ability of females nesting success. This result is achieved by causing geese to spend more time evading hunters rather then stocking up on food for their migration back to their breeding grounds. This has lead to decreased fitness and the apparent choice of some females to not breed (Gauthier et al. 2001). It has been showed in a study by Mainguy in years when there was a spring hunt adult geese arrived at the breeding grounds with significantly reduced fat and protein reserves compared to years with no spring hunt. Although most geese survived the hunt many of them died on their migration north or arrived in the breeding grounds with reduced condition and in turn had reduced clutch sizes or no clutch at all. This study shows that a spring hunt may not only increase mortality but also reduce fecundity (Mainguy et al. 2002). Francis et al. (1992) contends that hunting is only a significant source of mortality in lesser snow geese for their first year, after which they become more adept at avoiding hunters all together and the affects of fitness are slight compared to the greater snow goose example. Francis also suggests that increased hunting pressure may have been a viable option in the 1970’s and 80’s, but at this point more aggressive methods of control need to be employed (Francis et al 1992). Some of the other, less popular methods of controlling the rising lesser snow goose population are baiting and using live decoys, commercial harvesting, trapping and culling birds on migration and wintering areas and using them for human consumption (Ben-Ari 1998). At this time it is estimated that the snow goose harvest would have to increase by more then six-fold just to bring the geese down to steady-state levels (Cooke et al. 1995). The most effective methods of control would be to poison populations by the thousands or other methods of mass genocide, both of these methods have been deemed unacceptable by society. It is clear that more aggressive methods need to be used or will be faced with millions of fledglings dying each year on the breeding grounds or a breakout of avian cholera in one of the major wintering areas which would not only effect snow geese but other waterfowl species as well (Batt 1998). It is clearly a difficult task to bring these birds back into control but something needs to be done before it is too late.

Genetic variation is common among lesser snow geese, the most obvious genetic variation among them is their plumage dimorphism. This blue-white color polymorphism is controlled by two alleles at a single locus. The blue allele (B) is incompletely dominant to the white allele (b) (Cooke et al. 1995). This results in some variation in lesser snow geese with both homozygous (BB) and heterozygous (Bb) displaying blue-phase coloration and homozygous (bb) geese exhibit white-phase coloration. The blue-phase geese range in coloration as described by Cooke on a scale from (2-6), with the higher numbers indicating an increasing level of dark plumage. Categories 2-4 are generally classified as light bellied geese and 5-6 are classified as dark bellied geese. Generally mating between two homozygous (BB) geese produces offspring that exhibit higher color values and decreasing in color values in offspring from (BB)x(Bb) pairings. The lowest color values are found in offspring from two heterozygous (Bb)x(Bb) blue geese or pairings between white geese and blue geese (bb)x(Bb) (Cooke et al. 1995). It is interesting to note that populations of lesser snow geese used to homozygous with white plumage geese in the western range and homozygous blue geese in the east and only as recently the 1950’s have the two populations coming into contact and began interbreeding2. This would signify that the two color phases evolved separately. Currently the western populations are all homozygous white and the two color phase are present in the central breeding grounds with increased frequency of blue phased geese to the nearly all blue phase geese in the eastern populations (Weckstein et al. 2002). The snow geese in the central region are dimorphic in coloration, however they are not evenly distributed in these colonies as one would expect. Since the blue allele exhibits incomplete dominance it is to be expected that there would be an increasing number of blue-phase geese in the central populations. However Cooke’s study provides evidence that something else is at work. There is a high gene flow rate in snow goose populations in the central breeding ground, so there should be a rapid increase in the ratio of blue allele frequency there. Over the course of Cooke’s study there has been a slight and systematic increase in allele frequency among female geese, however this is much slower than would be expected. The male geese from the central populations have experienced no increase in the allele frequency. This paradox is explained by the fact that the lesser snow geese have strong assortative mating preferences with respects to plumage. In the breeding colony at La Perouse Bay, which is in the central breeding grounds, 90.2% of females with two white parents returned with a white male, 78.2 percent of females with two blue parents returned with a blue mate. In cases where the female had mixed parents 62.5 percent acquired white mates and 37.5 percent blue mates (Cooke et al. 1995). With this structure of gene flow the blue-phase allele will increase at a gradual rate over a much longer period then what would occur if mate selection were purely random.

Gene flow has also been shown in populations of lesser snow geese in the western breeding range, where the geese are all white-phase. There are two breeding colonies on Wrangel Island that have been shown to exhibit a great deal of genetic variation. A study by Kuznetsov on eleven loci in lesser snow geese showed that three were monomorphic with the other eight loci exhibiting up to six alleles per locus. In the study they found that the two populations wintered in different areas with a slight overlap. The geese from southern wintering populations had fewer polymorphic loci then geese from the northern wintering populations. Genetic variation occurred at a higher frequency in female geese then in males form the two colonies with females from the southern wintering areas containing more homozygous alleles. This is supported by the female philopatry and male immigration. The larger amount of genetic variation may be due to the northern population recently coming in contact with populations from banks Island which are genetically different and also suggesting that the northern and southern populations have only recently come back into contact with each other. It is estimated that a genetic exchange between the populations may be as much as 9% per generation due to pairings between populations and extrapair copulations (Kuznetsov et al. 1998).

The lesser snow goose’s ability to adapt to post World War II agriculture has enabled their sharp rise in population. With this marked rise in population, breeding habitats have been destroyed. Now, we are now faced with an impending ecological disaster. If this problem is not corrected soon, it may be too late and the breeding ground ecosystem may be lost forever. In light of this, snow goose assortative mating has resulted in an interesting mix in gene flow. Snow goose populations mix during their wintering period and interbreed to allow for more genetic variation. From the data presented, it is clear that the Lesser Snow Goose’s problems are a product of their successful adaptability.

LITERATURE CITED

Batt, B. 1998. Snow Geese: Grandeur and Calamity On An Arctic Landscape. Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Memphis, Tennessee.

Ben-Ari, E. T. 1998. A New Wrinkle in Wildlife Management. BioScience 48:667-674.

Cooch, E., R. F. Rockwell, and S. Brault. 2001. Retrospective Analysis of Demographic Responses to Environmental Change: A Lesser Snow Goose Example. Ecological Monographs 71:377-400.

Cooke, F., R. F. Rockwell, and D. B. Lank. 1995. The Snow Geese of La Perouse Bay: natural selection in the wild. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

Francis, C. M., M. H. Richards, F. Cooke, and R. F. Rockwell. 1992. Changes in Survival Rates of Lesser Snow Geese With Age and Breeding Status. The Auk 109(4):731-747.

Gauthier, G., R. Pradel, S. Menu, and J.D. Lebreton. 2001. Seasonal Survival of Greater Snow Geese and Effect of Hunting Under Dependence in Sighting Probability. Ecology 82:3105-3119.

Kuznetsov, S. B., V. V. Baranyuk, and J. Y. Takekawa. 1998. Genetic Differentiation Between Wintering Populations of Lesser Snow Geese Nesting on Wrangel Island. The Auk 115(4):1053-1057.

Mainguy, J., J. Bety, G. Gauthier, and J. F. Giroux. 2002. Are Body Condition and Reproductive Effort of Laying Greater Snow Geese Affected by the Spring Hunt? The Condor 104:156-161.

Weckstein, J. D., A. D. Afton, R. M. Zink, and R. T. Alisauskas. 2002. Hybridization and Population Subdivision Within and Between Ross’s Geese and Lesser Snow Geese: A Molecular Perspective. The Condor 104:432-436.

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Snow geese begin their migration in late August. By early September, a few of them appear in Saskatchewan. The big migration from and across North and South Dakota occurred on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, October 30 to November 1 in 2003. The following chronology describes the year’s migration.

September 7-13, 2003
8th – The first snow geese arrived in small groups in the fields around the Quill Lakes (SK).
9th – Lot of ducks and Canadas are reported around the Quills. A few snows are spotted in North Dakota.
13th – Flock after flock of snow geese are headed south over The Pas, MB area following a heavy north wind. The snow geese numbers in the Quills are on the increase. There are also lots of Canada geese around. Harvests should be completed this week. Additional snows are showing up in ND. Lesser Canadas are coming across the border into North Dakota in good numbers with the last front. Bismarck has its first September high temperature in the 60s.
September 14-20
18th – The number of snow geese around the Quills is growing daily. The specks are thick around Kindersley, SK with a smattering of Ross and snows, however, more and more are showing up everyday. There seems to be quite a few cranes around as well. Duck numbers are up from last season.
19th – A few small flocks of snows are reported in the Des Lacs area.
 
September 21-27

22nd – Fair numbers of snows are around the Quills and a big migration happened on September 17th. Ducks are thick and Canadas about normal. Hunting success is very good. Lots of juvies are taken.
27th – Goose hunting season opens in North Dakota.
September 28 – October 4 (First week of ND season)
28th – There are small, scattered flocks in ND. Six snows are taken by one party in ND during the first weekend of the season.
West central Saskatchewan around Kindersley is real dry. Some good water is located north of there. There are lots of specks with young, and good numbers of Ross and snows with plenty of young. Most of the snows are still north of Kindersley (1-2 hour driving).
October 5-12
5th – Sunday morning (5th), lots of snows were migrating east over Kindersley.
There are unbelievable numbers of snow geese in SK. Not many geese are seen south of Moose Jaw, SK though.
October 13-18
It is very warm in ND and Canada this week.
15th – There are some birds in the Rock Lake and Hurricane Lake areas of ND.
60 snows are reported taken by one party in ND.
Specks peak in western SK. Snows are just arriving in southern Alberta. Birds move into southern SK. There are lots of geese reported in southern SK around Lampman. There are now good numbers of birds in southern Manitoba too.

Oct. 19 –25

The first part of the week continues to be warm.
23rd – 25 mph wind in SK. The weather is starting to turn. Great hunting.
24th – 40 mph NW winds in SK. Estevan gets a trace of snow. At least a trace of precipitation in Estevan during the next 7 days. (Estevan, SK gets 12 inches of snow in November.)
25th – Huntable numbers of snows are coming into the Upper Souris Refuge in ND. One small flock is seen in the western panhandle of Nebraska.
Birds are piling into southern Alberta. They are also starting to come into Sand Lake, SD
October 26-November 1
26th – It’s getting colder. Night time temps in the low 20s in Bismarck.
28th – Birds are packed into southern SK but still lots of birds in north central SK as well. There are a hundred thousand at J. Clark Salyer. A good number of birds are also at Sand Lake in N. SD.

29th The first snowfall of the year hits ND. There are 2.5 inches of snow in Bismarck, 3 inches in Bottineau, and 4 inches in Estevan, SK. There are 45 mph winds in western MN. A few snows are seen there. There are 8,500 snows at Sand Lake. Some birds are heard in central Nebraska at daybreak – likewise along the Missouri in Iowa. Birds are just starting to enter the Sacramento Valley in California.
30th – Geese are leaving the North Dakota refuges in huge numbers and migrating. The birds have been there in big numbers for only about five days this year!! Some Minnesota hunters do very well on mallards and bluebills in the Hutchinson area. Late this afternoon, the birds start a major push down the Missouri River and over Pierre, SD. Hunters wait in the Nebraska panhandle for the big push. But, it doesn’t happen.
31st – Today it does happen! The weather of the last two days has really started to move birds. The night time low is –2 in Estevan, SK. The high temperature is 30 and a low of 14 degrees in Bismarck, ND. There is a trace of snow. The birds continue to push through ND in large numbers. They are also moving over western South Dakota. Big flocks have moved into Sand Lake. Minnesota duck hunters are doing very well today and seeing a lot of high flyers heading south in flocks of 200 to 300 ducks.
Farther south, the snow geese vanguard reaches Nebraska by 2 in the afternoon. Hunters report them in the stratosphere today around Omaha. They are going overhead on Halloween afternoon and night near Lincoln and Omaha and northeast KS. The western panhandle has two inches of snow on the ground and the birds are flying over. About 20,000 are reported in one area in Colorado. Dumas, Texas in the panhandle gets 400 snow geese.
Nov. 1st – The low temperature is just 13 and only gets up to 30 for a high in Bismarck today. Another half inch of snow falls. Swans are passing over the Winnipeg area. Northern Minnesota field hunters are having tremendous success on mallards. But, the lakes are freezing fast. Snows are also seen in west central MN. Snows are holding for a while at Sand Lake. Flock after flock of snows are still going over southeast and central NE. There are a few birds flying over central IA. Action is heating up at Squaw Creek, MO as northern birds start to arrive. One small flock is reported as far south as Biloxi, MS.
November 2 – 8
2nd – Not all the birds have left the Dakotas. Snows are on the ground west of Watertown, SD. They are also arriving in Texas and California. Lots of them are around Katy, TX.
3rd – 3.3 inches of snow falls in Bismarck. Temperatures are between 13 and 19 degrees. J. Clark Salyer refuge in ND is frozen. Snow and cold has pushed birds out of west central SK. There are now 300,000 snows reported at Sand Lake, SD, up from 8,500 last week. Pickstown, SD is showing geese in local fields. Small flocks are seen milling around the Missouri River in central MO.
4th – Another 2.1 inches of snow falls in Bismarck, ND. Hunting is just about done in ND. But, despite all the bad weather of the last week, there are still some good numbers along I-94.
5th – Waves and waves of snows arrive in Texas. Rare sightings of snows occur in Utah.
6th – The Sand Lake refuge is emptying out. Those birds form a constant stream of snows flowing over Lake Vermillion, S.D. They are headed for Squaw Creek. Birds are seen in Tennessee.
7th – Tornadoes of snow geese are piling into fields in Oklahoma.

November 9-15

12th – 200,000 snows are holding at Squaw Creek refuge in northwestern MO. Geese are spread out from North Dakota to Texas.
13th – There are still 125,000 snows at Sand Lake. Lots of birds have dropped in at the Lovewell reservoir in KS. The Texas coast is filling up with geese.
14th – Pockets of snows are left in ND two weeks after the big push started. The state is 98% froze up.
November 16-22
18th – There are thousands and thousands of snows in Kentucky.
20th – 300,000 snows are still at Squaw Creek.
21st – Birds are still being taken in Spinks and Edmund counties in SD.
November 23-29
24th – It is reported that there are 350,000 snows at Squaw Creek.
29th – Thousands of geese filled the sky around Squaw Creek on Saturday morning.
November 30-December 6

Snow goose hunting is over in the upper Midwest.

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Snow geese building in North Dakota.

North Dakota’s spring snow goose conservation season is in progress, but since the birds are just beginning to arrive, it’s a good time to reflect on the past five years of this recent hunting opportunity.

The spring conservation season on light geese was one of several responses to an elevated population of breeding birds that have been ruining their own nesting grounds. Since the early 1970s the Mid-Continent Light Goose population – those birds that nest in the arctic and migrate through North Dakota is spring and fall – has more than doubled.

As this population has increased, more and more birds at arctic breeding colonies means less food for everyone. Snow geese are grazers and adults and newly hatched young depend on new growth of sedges and grasses. On many breeding grounds the sedges and grasses are gone before eggs start to hatch. Adult geese have to march their goslings sometimes miles to find the food they need. Most of the little geese don’t make it.

Waterfowl managers recognized the breeding ground problem many years ago and regulations have been relaxed to promote as much fall harvest as possible. Daily and possessions limits increased and seasons became longer, but still the snow goose population kept growing.

Spring hunting first began in 1999 as a management action designed to further increase the snow goose harvest.

The spring season – officially called a conservation order – combined with liberal fall regulations, has apparently helped to level off the snow goose population growth rate, but the population remains high, according to Mike Johnson, North Dakota Game and Fish Department waterfowl biologist.

For all states that authorize a light goose conservation order, the spring harvest has increased substantially since the first one in 1999. In that year, hunters bagged 341,000 light geese during the conservation order. Add in the 1998-99 regular and special seasons and the total U.S. light goose take was about 1.07 million birds.

During the same period in 1999-2000, the U.S. harvest was about 1.4 million birds, a number that international waterfowl biologists feel will start reducing snow goose numbers.

That overall harvest has remained relatively stable since 2000, but hunters are starting to kill more birds in the spring and fewer during regular fall and winter seasons. For instance, the North American light goose harvest during the conservation order in 2003 was about 653,000, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates. The total snow goose kill in 2002-03, the last season for which complete statistics are available, was about 1.3 million birds.

While the North American spring snow goose take has been on the increase, in North Dakota the numbers look like a roller coaster.

When analyzing the first years of the spring conservation season biologists must take many factors into account. Simply comparing a spring hunt to a traditional fall hunt in terms of success is not accurate.

For starters, the migration and bird reaction to weather conditions differ. During fall, snow geese in North Dakota tend to follow a more predictable path depending on water, weather and food supply.

The return trip north in spring can vary considerably, but one constant is the birds’ migration response to snow cover. For example, two years ago, snow pack in South Dakota was considerably heavier than in North Dakota. As spring melted away the majority of snow up north, the geese lingered in central South Dakota.

White fronts and snow geese: identification between species is important as the season on white-fronts is closed

When the birds finally could start moving north, they discovered a landscape free of snow and moved through North Dakota quickly, providing limited hunting opportunities along the way.

The varied migration patterns have led to extreme fluctuation in hunter numbers and success. In 1999, North Dakota had 6,300 spring hunters, compared to 1,260 in 2001, and back up to 2,300 last year. Hunter take varied from 35,000 one year to 3,500 the next. All these together to create an unpredictable outlook, but for some hunters that’s the draw for the spring conservation season.

The future

No one can accurately predict the future with any degree of confidence, especially when it comes to fish and wildlife populations. Biologists and hunters alike, however, will continue to strive for a snow goose population balanced with habitat needs and availability.

2004 regulations

The following regulations apply for North Dakota’s spring conservation season.

• The season runs through May 11.

• Shooting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.

• Light geese include snow geese, both white and blue phases, and Ross’ geese.

• The entire state is open.

• Electronic and recorded calls, as well as shotguns capable of holding more than three shells, may be used to take light geese during this season.

• Non-toxic shot is required for hunting all light geese statewide.

• No waterfowl rest areas are designated for the spring season. Hunters should note that private land within waterfowl rest areas closed last fall may be posted closed to hunting.

• There is no daily bag limit or possession limit.

• Residents need either the following 2003-04 or 2004-05 licenses: hunting, fishing, and furbearer certificate, small game license, and a general game and habitat license; or a sportsmen’s license. 2004-05 licenses are currently available only from the Game and Fish Department’s Bismarck office, the Department’s website at www.discovernd.com/gnf, or by calling 800-406-6409.

• Nonresidents need a 2004 spring light goose season license. The cost is $50 and the license is good statewide (zones do not apply to the spring season). Licenses are available at the Department’s Bismarck office or website, and by calling 800-406-6409. Nonresidents who hunt the spring season remain eligible to buy a fall season license. The spring season does not count against the 14-day fall restriction.

• A federal duck stamp is not required of either residents or nonresidents.

• All 2004 spring goose hunters must register with the Harvest Information Program; call toll-free, 888-634-4798; or, hunters purchasing a 2004-05 license from the Department’s office or website, as well as the 800-406-6409 number, will receive a HIP number at that time. Hunters who were HIP registered in fall 2003 must register again for the spring light goose season, but this HIP number is good for the fall season as well, so spring hunters should save it to record on their fall license.

• Driving off established roads and trails is strongly discouraged during this hunt because of the likelihood of soft, muddy conditions.

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The snow goose migration was extremely predictable when I was growing up. On the waterfowl opener in North Dakota, you could find my family staging at the Gateway Inn along with a hundred thousand snows along J. Clark Salyer Refuge by Westhope. We didn’t have to question whether or not huntable numbers were down, they just were. You won’t find the Gateway Inn in Westhope anymore, and you certainly won’t find a hundred thousand snows on the opener either. It’s amazing how warm each fall becomes, and how late the snow geese come down the past 8 years. On our journey up to Saskatchewan this year, we found that even in the Northern provinces the times are changing. Some for the better and some for the worse, I’ll let you decide.

Myself and my usual hunting partner Taylor Ells (Maverick) load into the truck of a newly found good friend of mine, Jon Madison (Madison). The crew that went up last year was unable to go this year so I was the only one with any Saskatchewan hunting experience. I was looking forward to showing them. The back of the truck was stacked with 500 snow windsocks and other miscellaneous gear, and we packed just short of 5 dozen bigfoots in the trailer for some Canada goose hunting. Nothing beats the feeling when you’re finally ready to hit the road for something you plan for so long.

We were on the road for not even 5 minutes and I was already concerned. The tarp on the trailer was catching wind and rising to the point where our stacked up bigfoots are becoming alarmingly close to flying out. We questioned how long this would last….never mind, there went a bigfoot. After a stop for some rope and some clever packing, we were confident and on our way. Only 10 hours to go, and I was already so excited I couldn’t stand it. We took the scenic route through some of my favorite stopping grounds in North Dakota. Hmmmm…the ponds are surprisingly void of ducks, not a good sign. We watch the sunset to the west while we watch some small strings of snow returning to Des Lacs Refuge to the north. That should be good for the Goosefest in Kenmare that was taking place that weekend. With only about 30 minutes to go until the border crossing, I start to dig through my traveling bag to ensure I have all my paperwork. We started our decent down the overpass of the refuge north of Kenmare. Just as we reach bottom and over a hard bump on the bridge, I heard a noise in the rear. I take a look in the rear view mirror and what I was to witness next will stick with me for a long time. Evidently, the nut on the bottom of the hitch somehow wore itself loose. As we hit that bump it popped off, and the force bent the safety chains instantly. The trailer went into a sidespin, and started rolling over itself like a bowling ball. On about the 4th roll the tarp came off and the bigfoots exploded out of the trailer like a popcorn machine. I couldn’t believe my eyes; it was like a bad dream. Luckily, a gentleman by the name of Cole Allen from Lignite (Lignite Oil Company Inc.) came by and had enough room in his large trailer to fit our decoys and what was left of the trailer. He offered us to leave our trailer and decoys at his farm by Lignite until our return, which we gladly accepted. God I love the people of North Dakota. Minus one trailer and 5 dozen bigfoots we were on our way into Saskatchewan.

After many hours of traveling we were finally at our destination in Saskatchewan, late on Saturday night. We were instantly greeted by our neighboring hunting party, Perry Thorvig, Ken C., Todd G. and Dan L. (djleye). This was their first trip up there, and weren’t familiar with the area. I had been in touch with a local up there from the site named Paul (nickel ditch), and he nicely left us 5 RM maps of our scouting area at our hotel room. If you’re not familiar, hunting is outlawed in the province on Sunday so we took advantage of the day to scout. The weather forecast for the week showed highs in the 70’s and 80’s with no clouds to be seen anywhere. This is NOT the kind of weather I was hoping for, a year earlier I remember temps in the teens while hunting and this would only be a figment of my imagination this year.

Sunday comes early and we pile into the Ford. I knew exactly where we were to be heading, the same roost that brought us good fortune the year before. Reports from the local Conservation Officer that week quoted over 100,000 birds staging, so I was optimistic even though this was only about a 1/3 of the numbers as last year. As I peaked to the west, I start to see the first strings of snow geese moving on the horizon. We follow the strings into a pea field, about 4 miles off the roost. A mile away another feed was brewing in a barley field, feeding in the same fashion as the year before. They would easily cover the field and walk over the road to start feeding the next. As I gaze across the roost, I see even more geese piling into fields on the opposite flyway so we worked our way around to have a look. It turned out to be a feed coving over an entire section, and we started our pursuit of permission from the landowner. We found the landowner, and after we gained permission we sat backed and chatted for awhile. The problems with CWD in Saskatchewan are devastating, far more than I had ever imagined. With the inability to ship their beef or elk into the states, there was no market left. One landowner in particular had over 800 head of elk, and he could no longer afford to feed them. They were going to dig a large whole and shoot and bury all but the bulls, whose velvet is valuable and worth a large price over in China. What a shame, what a shame.

Later that afternoon, we sat back gazing across the roost over a cool one. It was 82 degrees, and seemed like I should be sipping on a Corona rather than a Molson. It was so warm about 1/3 of the birds on the roost never even came off to feed that evening, not typical at all. We put the birds to bed in our same field, and got ready for the next morning. I sent Perry’s group over to another area that I heard was holding good numbers and they came back empty handed, so we decided to hook up. I got the phone call from Paul (nickel ditch), and he was going to make an appearance the following morning as well. Should be an interesting group of guys!

Morning comes and we find ourselves in a tall stubble field from the night before. We got there extra early, as we noticed 3 guides watching our field the night before. Even though we had permission, it’s better to be safe than sorry. We had a good 15 mph breeze, so we set up a backup truck downwind of us 300 yards to keep other spreads from downwinding us. With Perry’s decoys we had over 1000 out in the field, and it should do the trick. I peak into the truck and see we have about an hour to shooting time, no hurry. I sat back on the tailgate and gazed into the north sky that was dancing with the northern lights. It had been a long time since I’d seen them like this morning; it covered half of the sky. My gazing came to a halt with the sight of approaching headlights in the distance. Three vehicles in a row…that’s a hunting party. They stop on the road off of our spread for a minute, than creep away until they make their way into a field a mile downwind away. Looks like we have company, but we should be okay until….another 3 trucks make their way into the other field on our downwind side (between us and the roost). Already I had seen more hunters that morning than the entire trip the year before, it looked as if the word was out. But no matter, we’ve still got our field to ourselves. What happened next is what blows my mind. Another 3 vehicles pull up to our field, and drive in between our spread and our backup vehicle 300 yards downwind. The sight of someone attempting to set up just downwind of my spread is like a slap in my face. If you ever want a confrontation from me, that’s how you’ll do it. I hopped into Dan’s truck and head over to the approaching vehicles. The guy who approached my vehicle turned out to be an illegal guide taking out a couple groups from Utah. I asked him what he was doing and he said I’m setting up my spread right here (a couple hundred yards downwind) as he pointed in front of my vehicle. I asked if he had permission, he said no. I couldn’t believe it, even without permission he was going to downwind us. After some words tossed back and forth I came to the conclusion that there wasn’t anything that was going to change this jerk’s mind, so I headed back to our spread. I could see the disappointment in everyone’s eyes, and even Paul who lived in the area said he’s never been downwinded, some luck. Well there’s nothing to do now but try to make the best of it so we got situated and ready for the first flights.

Before the sun rose small flocks started trickling towards the set, as well as our neighbors in the fields around us. About 60 yards up and 200 yards out, a pair of snows lock up gunning for us. A couple of “shucks” later they were at 25 yards and almost over us. They fade just off the side and over Perry’s group on the other side of the spread. They pull up and moments later we had our first Saskatchewan birds in the bag. After a couple of similar vollies, we take notice to the roost erupting to the north. It’s always an amazing sight to see, no matter how many times you’ve seen it. The cloud of birds shift over one spread, birds drop…than over another, same thing. The birds drop down and enter our field giving us a good look.

They come over the group downwind of us and they start skybusting sending the flock into a panic and swung around us. We were so close to having the skies come over, but in the confusion small flocks dropped in for the next half hour. And just like that it was over, and the birds shifted past us. The morning was fun and frustrating at the same time. If you’re a snow goose hunter you know what I mean. But after all the emails, stories, and preparations I finally shared a memory with my friends that we hadn’t shared before. Downwinded by 3 spreads or not I’d do it again.

While scouting for the next day, we decided to abandon the roost we hunted that morning. We weren’t real excited about sharing a flyway with the guides the next morning so we ventured towards a new area with very little time to spare. We sent Perry and Ken in one direction, and Dan and Todd in another. We decided to take a scouting run that Perry had taken the previous day, as I’d received good word of bird numbers from a contact I had in the area. With about 20 minutes left of light, I noticed a lone snow goose drop in between some trees up ahead.

In between the trees was a small body of water holding a good number of birds. Trading between that slough were a couple fields holding around 10K each. Not real strong numbers but we figured it’d be good enough. We stopped at a farm looking for the landowner, and the farmer told us there was 100K just south of our fields. That got our blood flowing…nothing like a big surprise in the morning considering we ran out of time that evening. We got permission for our plan A and plan B field and went back to the hotel, hoping the other scouters found the mother load we’d expected. As I opened the door of the room I caught the whiff. Mmmmmmm, the BBQ goose was ready to be served in the crock pot and the Molson was cold. Just after finishing dinner and a couple innings of the World Series, Dan and Todd came in the room. As always they were sporting grins and ready to trade some jokes. They put on some serious miles but failed to put a finger on the big concentrations and were empty handed. Perry and Ken came in shortly after and didn’t look real encouraged. They had put on over a couple hundred miles through the heart of goose country and came up empty handed on a field as well. Luckily, we had permission for 2 fields so we decided to split up for the next morning.

Remember that 100K the farmer told us about? It didn’t exist. With the exception of a roost holding a few thousand to the west of us, all of our birds came from the first roost we found to our north about 5 miles away. We were banking on flyways other than that roost, but that turned out to be it. We could hear Perry’s group shooting to the north of us (just a mile off the roost in our direction), and it forced the flocks to shift to our east a couple miles. There would be very little action that morning, and our group only harvested a dozen, the others I think 16. By the time it was 9 a.m. I was sweating profusely from the heat, and there was barely a bird in sight. Hmmmmmm….just doesn’t feel like Saskatchewan.

That evening we were really discouraged. We knew there were big piles of the birds just to the north of us, but none of the groups were able to pinpoint the location so we decided to let our luck ride on our first roost. We got an early start on the scouting, but realized the birds wouldn’t be moving until late in the 80 degree heat, so we stopped at the bar for a beer and some poutine (French fries covered in gravy and cream cheese, our Canadian staple food). We left for scouting with about an hour and a half of sunlight and the birds were just starting to filter off the roost. There was a heck of a flyway this evening out to the east, in the area where we first started scouting the Sunday we arrived.

Once again, an entire section became covered with geese, in every patch of field that held edible grain. It was quite an impressive sight. Dan and Todd found the same field, and together we marveled at the numbers. After Dan and Todd got permission from one half of the section, and we acquired permission for the other we sat back and put the birds to bed so we could go out that evening and determine where we’d setup the following morning. It turned out that our crew had hunted this exact same field the year before, what was the odds???

The next morning came and we decided to spread the decoys waaaaaay out. In fact, from end to end the 1000 decoys covered about 300 yards in length, and about 150 yards in width. We had been using all white snow goose spreads the previous 2 days with very little luck so today we abandoned the electronics and put out our blue goose decoys as well. We spread out to try and cover the set, so the birds wouldn’t sneak in between us. The first flocks started coming that morning and shucked all the way to the ground, all coming into the spread from the same direction. After a couple minutes of that, one by one the guys started shifting to the side of the spread getting all the action. I held up on the high end, trying to keep the snow goose sounds constant from my call. A pair swung over me and I folded the first and click! Nothing on the second. This was the 6th time my Benelli Nova let me down this trip and it wasn’t the last either. Soon I found myself sprinting downwind as the flocks kept coming in from the same direction. But as soon as the action was hot, the sun peared out from the east and the birds came 20 yards higher and at a marginal range. We hadn’t been graced with a cloud at all the previous 2 days, and today was no exception. Soon the birds all piled into a field a mile or so away and the birds held there until they were done feeding. As we started to pick up our decoy spread, a vehicle pulled into the field. It turned out to be a federal CO that was the same CO that checked us in the same field last year!….weird…

Everyone was clean and he commented that our 25 bird shoot was the best he’s seen, so it appeared the weather was having an effect on everyone. The year before he told us horror stories of the Americans dumping all the birds in ditches and dumpsters, and that because of all the violations they were considering moving all waterfowl hunting in the province to guides only. Well it turned out that they’re having a big problem with illegal guides, and that they were the one’s suspected of all the illegal dumping. They had no other way to keep under their possession limits with all of their hunting groups. He went on about the horror stories and it just sickened me. It appears greed and disrespect of wildlife from guides can occur anywhere, not just in the incidents we’re used to in North Dakota. Apparently they’re looking into a 6,000 nonresident hunter limit on waterfowl next year. This year he projected well over 12,000 in the province, so that’d be over a 50% decrease. If that’ll help clear up all the guide problems up there I’m all for it (even if I have to wait another year).

After the hunt I could see the look in Taylor’s and Madison’s face. They were growing tired of the 80-degree heat, the weary birds, and we had a trailer to take care of back in North Dakota. We came to the decision to leave a day early, even though we could see some colder weather in the forecast. We packed up early the next morning and got an early start on the road. There were 20 degree temps that morning and I felt sickened….it turned out that Perry and Ken shot 39 that morning themselves, we had missed the best action of the week. This was kind of the way our whole trip went; hopefully our timing and luck will pan out for the better next year!

More photos of the Saskatchewan trip can be found in the Saskatchewan 2003 Photo Album.

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Some who have tried it are apathetic when it comes to waterfowl hunting. Most of those that walk away from hunting have failed to have those premier experiences that can hook a hunter forever. This is the story of how four hunters got hooked on North Dakota waterfowling.

My brother-in-law, Ken Carlson, and I took the “scenic route” to Cando in 1987 on the second weekend of the waterfowl season. The old route up Hwy. 2 was getting a little stale after nine years. I also wanted to see how far the birds ranged to the east up along the border.

We departed from our normal route in Grand Forks. Instead of heading west to Devils Lake, we preceded north on Hwy. 81 and then west on Hwy. 5 to Rock Lake. It was time to see what Langdon looked like.

We soon learned that Walhalla didn’t get its name for being the heaven on earth of goose hunting. There weren’t any geese around there. We saw our first snow geese in the Langdon area. We went a little farther west and turned north toward Rush Lake. We scouted along the route toward Calvin, Clyde, and Sarles. We saw a few more small flocks of geese.

We got to the high land east of Rock Lake and were able to scan the western horizon and see the feint outline of the distant Turtle Mountain uplands. There were no lengthy strings of birds lifting off the lake and going out to feed. Suddenly, the prospects didn’t look too good. Where were the birds?

We stopped at the top of a hill overlooking the lake to take a leak and were buffeted by strong westerly winds. I yelled at Kenny C. to put his back to the wind or he was going to get an unwanted shower.

With that taken care of, we prowled the west side of Rock Lake and found more small flocks of geese already on the ground feeding. It seemed that the strong wind had caused the birds to feed early. Now, it occurred to me that maybe the scattered, small flocks were actually an encouraging sign. I hated when they all bunched up and went out in one large group. They were really hard to decoy when they behaved like that. The smaller groups offered some hopes that they could be pulled into a decoy trap.

We checked into our host Mike’s place at about sunset. We had found a few likely spots to hunt the next morning but were not overly excited about any of them. Shortly after we arrived, my old hunting partner Ken Ziegler and his friend Mike Ferber joined us. Ken and I had hunted in the area for four years with mixed success. Ferb was an old friend of Ken’s from the Detroit Lakes, Minnesota area. It was Ferb’s first hunting trip with us.

Kenny Z. and Ferb had arrived the night before and had one day of hunting already. They had come directly from an opening hunting weekend in Minnesota and were making a week of it. I greeted the two dirty-faced warriors and asked, “Did ya have any luck?”

They tried to hide their smiles but weren’t very good at it. They sure did have good luck. In fact, they were well on their way to their possession limits. They had found both ducks and geese in a field not far from the local airport only about two miles from town. That sure beat the field locations that Ken Carlson and I had found 20 miles from town. The decision on where to hunt in the morning was an easy one.

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I had waited for several years for the day when my son Erik would be old enough to sit in a North Dakota stubble field and watch the white specks lose altitude and tumble into a decoy spread. Ken Carlson and I had experienced a great flight of birds in 1994 and I wondered if Erik would ever see an opener such as that. I wanted him to feel that adrenalin rush as the birds came in low on the deck. He turned 13 in 1995. It would be his time to start hunting.

That fall, I went to Holiday, now Gander Mountain, and purchased a youth model of the 20 gauge Remington 870 pump. Next stop was the trap range so that he could get a feel for shooting. We learned quickly that it is a little difficult for a rookie to hit clay pigeons.

But, late October meant the real thing rather than clay pigeons. An afternoon of scouting uncovered only a few flocks of snow geese west of Cando. We did not get the field that we were looking at because another hunter beat us to the door of the farmer we had known for 20 years. We settled for a nearby field.

Early on a Saturday morning, Erik and his cousin Jason Carlson (14) learned the unglamorous side of goose hunting for the first time. It was tough for those two youngsters to stomp through a dug wheat stubble field trying to figure out how to place decoys for the first time. But, there was no complaining. It was a new adventure for them.

Finally, the decoys were set. Jason sat with his dad, Ken about 30 yards to the left of Erik and me. We were on the downwind end of the decoy spread with the Northwinds and assorted shell decoys upwind of us. It was not long before the familiar squeaks and squawks of the first flight of snow geese broke the prairie dawn’s silence. Unfortunately, the fickle flock decided to pick out a spot about three hundred yards downwind from us to sit down for breakfast. However, the spot where they landed did provide excellent viewing of the feeding flock. Many times, the flock lifted up and did the “swirl” around the field only to sit right back down again. Each time, it seemed that the birds were going to head our way. But, that was just a hunter’s wishful thinking.

A few mallards plunged from high in the brightening sky toward the swirl of snows. Eventually, one of those mallards decided to give our spread a look. At first, it looked as though it might rejoin the swirl. But, this time it kept coming to us. The bright green head began to show clearly as it flew to the southeast into the light breeze. I whispered to Erik to get ready. Twenty more yards would do it. The bird was coming to our side of the spread.

Erik was dressed in a white cotton parka, white pants, and white stocking cap. He looked like a cherubic little snowman. He wore some white cotton gloves to break the morning chill and camouflage his hands. He sat on a boat cushion just to my left in a shallow trench with a mound of dirt as a backrest. The bulky clothes would make it difficult for the 13 year-old to mount the 20 gauge.

Now the drake was at about the 1 o’clock position at 25 yards out and about 15 feet off the ground. I gave the shooting command of, “take him,” and began to raise my gun. I had just put my cheek on the stock when the little 20 gauge exploded to my left. A split second later, that greeny quit flying!

Oh, the quickness of youth. Erik had done what the experts tell us all to do. Raise the gun and let your instincts take over from there. Don’t think about it too much, just swing and fire. Erik had downed his first mallard.

The morning was topped off a while later when a few of those snow geese from the flock downwind finally gave us a look. Erik and I each shot one snow goose. Kenny and Jason were skunked on their side of the spread.

The next morning found us in the same field. The wind had shifted to the northwest and increased compared with the day before. It was more of a goose-hunting day with a deep gray overcast. We tried a different setup that day. We had two lines of decoys stretched out over about 100 yards. There was an alley of about 40 yards between the two lines. Each of the boys was placed at the downwind end of their respective strings. If the birds came in, they would reach the boys first. Ken and I were about 50 yards upwind and behind them on each side. The boys were really by themselves and would have to call their own shots this time. Ken and I were there just to take those birds that made it past the first barrage from Erik and Jason.

The morning’s action started almost immediately. Birds came from the southeast low across a two-mile roadless stretch of stubble fields. They came one or two at a time every ten minutes for an hour. They seemed to be zeroing in on Erik’s right side of the spread. Sure enough, he was right in the preferred path.

Erik began to burn up some 20 gauge magnum shells. Boom-miss, boom-miss. So, it went for the first three opportunities. The kid was learning how to use that pump. Kenny and I were getting some mop-up opportunities as the birds got past Erik and Jason. I jogged down to Erik’s pit and gave him some hints about waiting for the birds to be right over him before he shot. He was so tempted by how low and slow the birds were that he was shooting before they were getting to him. Patience is so important in waiting for snow geese.

The next two birds also came in over Erik. This time he waited. Then, the little 20 gauge roared again, miss. Then, HIT. The bird almost hit him in the head as it tumbled from the sky.

The scenario was repeated later in the morning. Erik shot two snow geese that morning. He had as many geese in the bag as anyone in our four-person hunting party. When we were all done, I had to greet him with a high-five. I was really proud of the youngster. He had done very well on his first duck and snow goose hunting trip. It wouldn’t be his last trip and he would do even better. His uncle Ken called him a “natural.”

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Some hunters will do anything and endure a lot of hardships to make their annual hunting trek to the North Dakota prairies. I am one of those guys. This story is not about shooting birds and decoy layouts. It is about the adversity we hunters endure to pursue a few flying fowl.

I first hunted North Dakota in 1975. That began 27 years of annual expeditions to North Dakota with my various hunting partners in pursuit of the snow goose and a few mallards. All of these trips have been a lot of work, but great fun. Some of them were downright adventures when I did not know if I would get there or not. One time, we almost did not get home and my North Dakota trips nearly ended permanently. Despite all these troubles, the prairie is a magnet to me and I continue my annual visits.

There is a popular myth that all non-residents go to North Dakota in their fancy vehicles and flaunt their wealth in front of the locals. Well not us. I mean to tell you that there were several times that our old, beat up vehicles barely got us there.

The first of these trips was in 1976. My hunting partner, Russ Fortner and I left the Twin Cities in mid-afternoon and drove my sedan to Grand Forks where we met our friend, Bruce Carlisle. He was in the process of waiting for a new Ford Bronco but had not yet received it. The car dealer had given him a loaner pickup truck until his new vehicle arrived. Bruce had obligations that kept him in Grand Forks until Saturday morning. Bruce decided to give us the pickup and drive my car out west the next day. So, Russ and I packed our gear into the back of the old pickup and headed for Hwy. 2 west.

As soon as we hit our first stop light in Grand Forks we began to experience trouble with the pickup. I was driving and could not baby the clutch to accelerate properly. It kept killing. Russ had the right touch and got us going. He drove for several miles until sleep began to gnaw at his consciousness. We had to switch drivers. I tried again but could not get the vehicle going. I felt absolutely helpless and embarrassed. Russ just said, “You’re something, Pear,” and climbed back into the driver’s seat. Though Russ was dead tired when he resumed driving, we made it to Churchs Ferry sometime after midnight.

The next morning we jumped into the finicky pickup. I tried again to drive and finally got the knack of the touchy clutch. All was well for a few hours until we noticed that one of the tires was almost flat. It was a good thing we had taken Russ’ tire pump along on the trip. We scouted all day stopping every three hours or so to pump up the bad tire. I can still remember pumping up that tire that evening as thousands of geese flew over-head, silhouetting the pink clouds, on their way back to Alice.

The next hunting season arrived and we still had no hunting car to haul our growing pile of decoys and hunting equipment. I arranged to borrow my friends F-150 Econoline van. It had no seats and could hold all of our decoys without taking them apart. I paid my friend the grand sum of $100 to use the van. We put 2000 miles on it in a week. I guess I got a pretty good deal.

However, there were some problems. One, the darned thing would not start all the time. Second, the brakes weren’t that good. We almost met disaster at one T-intersection on our cross-country jaunt from Minot to Aberdeen, South Dakota. We were doing a little road hunting, but primarily trying to get to Aberdeen by dark. I was reading the map and Russ was barreling down the gravel road at a pretty good clip. I was trying to decipher where we were on the thin gray line of a road on the map. I said to Russ, “It looks like this road is ending up here a little ways.” The words were no more than out of my mouth when Russ hit the brakes and the old white van started fishtailing down the road. “Oh my God,” I said as I looked up and saw a huge ditch and the barbed wire fence approaching at the end of a T intersection. The gravel and dust flew as we skidded to a stop not more than 2 feet from that fence.

Personal circumstances caused Russ to discontinue his North Dakota trips in 1980. But, the snow goose bug had bitten me deeply by then. I made arrangements to meet Bruce Carlisle in Churchs Ferry that fall. But, I had to get there by myself. I left the Twin Cities about 1:00 p.m. About 3:30 p.m., I blew my transmission fluid just south of the rest area around Dalton, Minnesota. It was the second time in three weeks that I had blown a hose. The first repair was clearly inadequate. I was able to get a ride to the rest stop and call a tow truck. The garage was able to replace the blown hose and get me on the road again. However, it was almost midnight when I got to the “Hilton” in Churchs Ferry where I met Bruce for a weekend of hunting.

Though there were no break-downs in 1983, there was a meltdown. My new hunting partner, Ken Ziegler, who I worked with at the City of Minneapolis was the designated driver. We used his old VW bus that year. All of my rubber Quack decoys were riding in the mid-section of the bus. We bumped along pretty well until we got to those two deep Turtle River crossings west of the Grand Forks Air Force Base. It was there that the old bus began to lose power going up the hills on the west sides of the valleys. Kenny was familiar with the old bus and got out and fiddled with some wires around the engine. We were on our way again but only at about 45 miles per hour top speed. The “bright lights” of Devils Lake never looked so good that night.

One of the next, dark mornings when we were headed to our field location, the engine again lost power somewhere out by Kramer. Ken, again, was able to get the engine humming with a little bailing wire.

The trip home was much better. We had a nice northwest tail wind and were really rolling. But, remember that meltdown I mentioned. It was our decoys. That old VW got so hot that many of the decoys nearest the rear engine suffered melted beaks and warped bodies.

The next year, 1984, the VW was hauling a boat trailer full of field decoys. The pin dropped out of the tongue of the trailer and it began to come apart. We hunted a quarter mile stretch of road west of Starkweather trying to find that pin. We never found it. But, fortunately, I had some spare bolts that just happened to fit the tongue. We were on the road again and made it home without any more problems.

After acquiring our licenses, we drove, slowly, over to the Napa Auto Parts store. We jacked up the trailer and took the wheel and hub off the axle – in an absolute downpour. Fortunately, the guys at Napa were very helpful and we were able to get the hub fixed ourselves. Three soggy, wet hunters continued their trek west to goose country.

We did drive a new suburban for several years starting in 1985. It was a nice period of no car problems. Ken retired the old VW. (It’s still in his backyard.) But, eventually the old sub developed some hardening of the arteries and caused us problems too. In 1995, we were around Motley, Minnesota when we developed engine problems. The sub lost power and was not getting any gas. Fortunately, we were only about a mile from a garage in Motley. After about three hours delay, we were on the road again. But, the sub was still missing and we decided to transfer all our gear to Mike Ferber’s small Toyota pickup in Detroit Lakes. Kenny and the dog found themselves buried in the back of the pickup with all our gear for the rest of the trip.

Ken and Ferb tried the sub one last time in 2000. However, they only got to Fargo when they turned into a howling north wind on I-29. The old horse had so little power left in the engine that it could not buck the wind. They turned around and drove all the way back to Detroit Lakes where they again transferred the load to Ferb’s smaller pickup.

I have had some other challenging episodes such as last October’s snowstorm and icy and rutted roads. On that trip, there was a bad accident that occurred right behind us on I-94 between Fargo and Valley City. I have fought off sleep at 1:00 a.m. on the way home after a long, tough weekend of hunting. And, I have been big-time stuck in greasy fields.

But, the real granddaddy of all the car troubles was in 1998. My son, Erik, and I were on our way back from a nice weekend trip to North Dakota. We were between St. Cloud and Clearwater, Minnesota in heavy Sunday night traffic returning to the Twin Cities around 7:00 p.m. I was in the left lane doing about 60 when a small Plymouth Horizon came galloping out of the median like a deer in the headlights. The little car was northbound and had come from nowhere. As it made its entry into the southbound lanes, it spun around and was rolling backward in front of two lanes of on-coming Sunday night traffic.

All I could do was hit the brakes and steer to the right. There was no way!! I hit the little Horizon behind the back left wheel and blew through its back bumper with the left front bumper of my Dodge Caravan. We made it though the collision with no injuries, but had considerable car damage. However, we were able to limp the remaining fifty miles home by not making any real sharp turns.

That was the event that almost put the lights out permanently.

Despite all these troubles, they really are only footnotes about my trips to North Dakota. None of these events are included in my hunting diary. Surprisingly, the guys have some real good laughs about these mishaps. However, these troubles have caused me to think cautiously and take precautions.

The real memories of these trips are the guys with whom I have hunted, the friends I have made in North Dakota, steaks at Gordy’s, Pizza at the Sand Bar, the decoy layouts, bright green heads, pink sunrises, golden stubble fields, and waves of snow geese passing overhead. For us, its North Dakota or Bust!

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