LEISURE: EARLY GOOSE COUNT DOWN FOR SEASON OPENING

Suddenly the weather is for the birds, marking the beginning of waterfowl hunting season.

The pleasant, warmer temperatures which have prevailed in the area through the first week of November are fading into a cold front that has plowed its way across the eastern half of the nation, bringing with it heavy rains, colder temperatures and storms.

Although Friday dawned partly sunny in the Cape Girardeau and Southern Illinois areas, temperatures remained near the freezing mark into the late morning, and partly cloudy skies and cold temperatures are expected over the weekend.

This could translate into good news for waterfowl hunters in Southern Illinois.

"Geese were flying Friday," said Jack Collins, of Miller Brothers Hunting Club, in the Horseshoe Lake area of Alexander County.

Hunters at the Miller Club bagged five geese the day before, when the waterfowl season opened in Southern Illinois' four-county, "quota zone."

A number of clubs in the quota zone didn't open for the brief, four day goose season, which opened Thursday and will close Sunday.

"The weather has been so warm," said Marty Davis of Davis Farms Hunting Club, located along Route 3 near the Union County Wildlife Refuge. "We're anticipating a good season this year, but we opted to wait until the Nov. 24 re-opening."

The quota-zone season will open again Nov. 24, and run through Jan. 31, or until a harvest quota of 32,900 geese has been reached.

One Williamson County club opened for ducks Thursday.

"We had 10 mallards by 10 a.m.," said Peter Homoya of Hurricane Creek Hunting Club near Carterville, Ill. "The ducks were plentiful and flying."

Homoya is also hopeful for a good goose season this year.

Collins, Davis and Homoya agree that the season here could depend on a couple of factors, weather and the mix of geese in the migration.

"If the weather up north is too pleasant, there's no reason for ducks or geese to leave there," said Collins. "Hopefully, we'll see some winter weather up there. Few geese are on the scene now."

During a count last week, only 2,000 of the big birds were recorded in the Southern Illinois area. About 500 of those were in the Horseshoe Lake area. Another 600 were observed in the Crab Orchard Lake area.

A lot of geese are already in the northern area of the flyway, said Cathy Thornburg who keeps taps on the Canada Geese count.

"One of our contacts in Wisconsin reported seeing more geese in that area than at any time over the past 30 years," said Thornburg. "If we can just get some winter weather up there...."