STRICTLY BUSINESS: SEEING GOOSE, A LESSON IN WATERFOWL LIFESTYLE

Spending an afternoon admiring the wily Canada Goose isn't a wild goose chase - it's a fascinating look at waterfowl lifestyle.

The Canada Goose is often referred to as "a wise old bird."

Rightfully so.

Wise, older geese have ruffled the feathers of many veteran hunters, and with the goose season now under way in the four-county -- Alexander, Union, Williamson and Jackson -- veteran and novice hunters may very well find that the magnificiant big bird is, indeed, one of the most intelligent birds.

The veteran birds know their way around, they're difficult to decoy, and they certainly test the outdoorsman's wildlife hunting skills. The notion that the Canada goose is a bird-brain has, in the figurative sense, cooked many a hunter's goose.

During many an afternoon we have watched a "V" formation of geese flying from Horseshoe Lake, only to veer back when they reached Highway 3, a dividing line between the refuge and commercial hunting clubs.

Hunters who have come to know, and appreciate, the Canada goose find that pursuing the big birds taxes their skill and ingenuity more than any other game bird. With a respective weight of anywhere from 7 to 14 pounds, and an impressive wing spread of 5.5 to 6.5 feet, the Canada goose should be an easy target.

Not so!

Canada geese are smart and getting smarter, said one wildlife biologist recently. "They're wise birds. You've got to admire them."

The quota zone season is still young, and some hunting clubs won't open until Dec. 1.

A few hunting clubs open

But a few clubs have opened.

The early kill total reflects the lack of geese in the Southern Illinois area, but the count of birds on hand this week is more than double the count for the season opening weekend, when fewer than 5,000 birds were in the area.

With cooler weather, especially up north, several flocks have ventured south during the past week. The latest aerial census, conducted last week, revealed more than 13,000 geese in the Southern Illinois, with 5,500 at the Horseshoe Lake Refuge area in Alexander County. About 2,000 each were in the Union County Wildlife area near Ware, and at Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge in Williamson and Jackson counties.

The harvest during the first week has been light -- 427. The lion's share of the harvest came from the Williamson and Jackson county area, at 348. Sixty-six were harvested near the Horseshoe Lake area in Alexander County, and 13 were killed in Union County, a dozen of them at the public hunting area.

These are still some small numbers as the Southern Illinois area annually plays host to as many as 750,000 to 1 million wintering Mississippi Flyway Canada geese. Many of the birds are return visitors coming to warmer Southern Illinois to sit out the biting winter cold in their native Canadian habitat.

Geese 'no dummies'

This is the first clue the birds are no dummies. Their coming to Southern Illinois is not by chance. The geese know where they are going, they know how to get there, and, most importantly, they know how to enjoy a winter vacation within eyesight of frustrated hunters, who help make goose hunting a multimillion dollar business in the area.

A lot of geese return to Southern Illinois year after year. The longer they've been coming to Southern Illinois, the better the odds they'll live to see a whole flock of gosling grandkids.

If birds survive two or three trips from Canada to Southern Illinois, they're apt to live 10 to 15 years, say waterfowl biologists. Geese traditionally return to the same wintering grounds every year. They're fairly quick to learn how to elude the hunter, find food and survive.

It's not rare, say biologists, to see geese live to be more than 20 years old. In some rare cases, geese have lived to be more than 40.

Measuring 'Goose IQ'

How do you measure "Goose IQ"?

For starters, consider how geese make the two-day, 500- to 700-mile trip from the northlands to Southern Illinois, a distance great enough to give even the most seasoned traveler a severe case of jet lag.

Flying in the familiar "V" formation, geese apply a sound aerodynamic concept.

The lead bird has the tough chore of breaking up the air, biologists explain. The birds following the leader move with much less effort. Interestingly, only the stronger geese take their turns at being the leader.

Once airborne, the geese stop only when necessary to rest, or feed, and then only in such places as their experienced leaders know to be safe.

During long flights, geese may chug along at a speed of about 40 miles per hour. But if they're in a hurry, they can churn that speed up to a maximum of 60 miles per hour. Like an airplane in a holding pattern, geese slow their speed when nearing their destination. Cruising along at a leisurely 25 to 30 miles per hour, the honkers scout for a place to land.

Sentinels at work

Another sign of the intelligence of the Canada geese is their sentinel system. When feeding on land, or water, the flocks are well guarded by sentinels. Two or more long black necks are always stretched high, keeping watch for approaching danger. At a warning from the sentry, every head is immediately raised, and, if deemed necessary, the flock takes wing.

Geese, say veteran biologists, learn very quickly what to fear. They have an uncanny knack of knowing the difference in friend and foe. A deer breaking a twig as it walks causes no alarm, but the cracking of a twig by an approaching hunter will startle them to flight.

The intelligence of the goose is also respected among other waterfowl. Ducks are particularly aware of their smarter kin. Many duck hunters mix several geese decoys with duck decoys. The presence of the geese decoys apparently gives incoming ducks more confidence all is well.

Goose hunters who set up blinds near wildlife refuges will attest to the fact that while a goose doesn't wear a Timex, he certainly knows the time of day. Returning geese remember, and it doesn't take but a few rounds of buckshot for new geese to learn that hunting begins at sunrise and ends promptly at 3 p.m.

Want a closer look?

Geese at Horseshoe Lake have been observed walking more than a quarter of a mile to feed, even though the distance could have been covered more quickly and easily by flying ... had it only been after 3 p.m.

If you want to get a closer look at the Canada goose, you may want to wait a month, or until the weather chills more. That 13,000 census of last week could grow to more than 130,000 by them. Places to visit include the Horseshoe Lake Wildlife Area near Olive Branch, the Union County Refuge near Ware or the Crab Orchard Refuge in the Carbondale-Marion area.

B. Ray Owen is business editor for the Southeast Missourian. He is a former outdoors editor and at one time, owned a farm in Alexander County, only a few miles from Horseshoe Lake.