Pennsylvania Game News - January 2022 - 26

For one thing, the AP goose zone
lies totally within the South Zone. For
another, there is a one goose limit in
effect in the AP Zone this year.
" This change is necessary to reduce
Winter Mallards
All is not lost if the latter portion of
duck season brings freezing weather.
There is one species that tolerates
the weather better than most, and
can offer some pretty good, if slightly
different, hunting under the coldest
conditions. That is - no surprise here -
the trusty old mallard.
Like most ducks, mallards will stay
close to home so long as they have
access to food and water, said Nate
Huck, the Game Commission's Waterfowl
and Dove Program Specialist.
What makes them special is how adaptable
they are in finding what they need.
" Mallards are one of a few duck
species that readily field feed, " Huck
said. " So when all those shallow bodies
of water that puddle ducks are using
freeze, mallards don't have to worry
about that. They don't have to find all
their food in the water. All they really
have to do is find a big open body of
water, whether it's a lake or a river,
where they can roost and then go to a
cornfield to feed. "
Hunters who target them in fields
can potentially get some shooting
when other opportunities are gone. It
can be good sport, too. Huck said he
recently had one of his best field hunts
ever right here in Pennsylvania.
But word of those opportunities is
getting out. Huck said field hunting for
ducks is growing in popularity.
It's also gear-intensive, requiring
lots of decoys, layout blinds and the
like. As a result, it's a sport pursued by
the most ardent waterfowlers, and they
work diligently to get a return on their
investment.
" The people who field hunt for
ducks, they scout hard, " Huck said.
" That brings a lot of competition for
access. "
26
harvest rates to a level that will allow
for growth of this migratory Canada
goose population, " explained Ian
Gregg, the Game Commission's Wildlife
Operations Division Chief.
That population declined significantly
and experienced a near-total
reproductive failure in 2018. The lowered
bag limit should allow AP Canada
goose populations to rebound.
In the meantime, overlapping the AP
goose season with the South Zone duck
season will let hunters take a goose
should they see one.
" We do hear from a lot of hunters
that, if duck season is open, they want
goose season open, and vice versa,
because they want that opportunity, "
Huck said.
The later goose season in the Resident
Population zone, meanwhile,
could feature both more birds and what
might be termed " fresh " birds.
" If we get the right weather conditions,
we might see birds moving
around and taking advantage of things
thawing in that last week of February, "
Huck said. " You may see birds that
weren't around even a few weeks prior,
because of snow cover, taking advantage
of new parts of the landscape.
" It may be kind of localized movements.
Birds moving 20 to 50 miles, " he
said. " We expect smaller, local movements
rather than bigger movements,
birds just spreading out and moving
north a little bit. "
The 2020-21 waterfowl seasons
offered a good example of that, Huck
said. Hunters got a bit of hunting in at
the end of the season, but cold weather
kept most birds away.
Then, a week after the season closed,
there was a thaw and lots of geese
moved into and around the state - just
Pennsylvania Game News - January 2022

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