GOOSE REPORT

WARE, Ill. -- Almost three-quarters of million Canada geese are now wintering in the Southern Illinois area.

During the latest goose census conducted by the Illinois Department of Conservation, it was estimated that more than 716,000 geese were in the area.

The count, by areas:

147,000 geese in the Horseshoe Lake area of Alexander County.

150,000 in the Crab Orchard Lake areas of Jackson and Williamson counties.

145,000 in the Union County Wildlife Refuge area.

125,000 in the Rend Lake Area.

75,000 at Ballard County, West Kentucky.

With the change in temperatures recently, and many new geese in the area, hunting has improved over the past week to 10 days.

"Hunters have averaged about 570 geese a day during the past eight days in the four-county Alexander, Union, Jackson and Williamson Quota Zone," said a Illinois Department of Conservation spokesman. "During the first 30 days, they averaged only 285 a day."

A total of 13,291 geese were harvested during the first 38 days of the season. 7,119 Canada Geese were harvested in Williamson and Jackson counties; 3,920 in Alexander County, and 2,252 in Union County.