WARM WEATHER DELAYS GEESE FLIGHTS TO SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

The weather was clear, the temperature warm. A small flock of Canada geese swam through cypress and tupelo trees in a shallow area of Horseshoe Lake. A couple of them stood over the rest, their long necks stretched high as they took in happenings around them. As the sun made its way toward the western horizon, the geese seemed to know it was time to move on. With little hesitation, the giant black and gray birds started honking loudly, taking off into the sky and slipping into a sloppy V. They headed north to get their direction, then veered toward a nearby field.The flock wasn't large, perhaps 300 birds, which is indicative of those in Southern Illinois."We don't have many geese here yet," said Kathy Thornburg at Union County Wildlife Refuge near Ware. The first flock of geese arrived Sept. 21 in Union County, but the flock was small. Overall, only 6,000 geese were counted this week in the Southern Illinois quota zone of Alexander, Union, Williamson and Jackson counties and the Rend Lake zone."With the warm weather, the geese just aren't moving south," said Thornburg. We'll expect a big migration of Canada geese this season, but it looks like it could be another January goose season."Over the past few years most of the geese in the Southern Illinois quota zone have been bagged in January. "Sort of a short-and-sweet season," said Thornburg.The season in Southern Illinois starts Nov. 26 and ends Jan. 31 unless the quotas are reached.The quota for the Southern Illinois zone is 36,100 birds, almost triple the 13,000 of a year ago. The quota for the Rend Lake zone is 6,600 birds.The season a year ago closed early after hunters reached the quota. It could last longer this season.The fall flight for Canada Geese in the Mississippi Valley flyway is expected to double the flight of about 600,000 during the peak periods of a year ago. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is anticipating peak flights of more than 1.2 million geese. The service established the season and quotas following a survey of key nesting areas in the northlands. The peak count a year ago was 176,550, a sizable number of geese until it is compared with peak counts of previous years: 431,900 in 1996 and 603,600 in 1994, and 1-million-plus in earlier years.The survey also revealed record high totals of ducks and geese.A record-setting fall flight of ducks has been projected to more than 105 million birds in the Mississippi flyway."I don't get too excited about waterfowl predictions any more," said Ken Masterson of Grace Hunting Club in the Horseshoe Lake area. "The hunting has been fair in January during the past few seasons, but I can remember when Thanksgiving Day presented great hunting."The weather patterns have changed over the past decade and so have the flight patterns, said Masterson. "I think we'll see very slow hunting the first month of the season with better days ahead in January," he said.Tom Burns, who operates Burns Goose Club near Carbondale, has a few hunters booked for opening day. Burns agreed that hunting could be slow early."Mother Nature is running the whole show," said Terry Ave of Davis Farms in Union County.A lot more geese will be coming in, but the weather will determine when they get to Southern Illinois, he said.With the big hatch, many of the birds could be "immature," which makes bagging a bird a little easier.State officials estimate the economic impact of waterfowl hunting at more than $22 million a season. It is particularly lucrative in Southern Illinois, where many hunters come in from the Chicago area and portions of Kentucky and Tennessee.

WATERFOWL SEASONS

GEESE: Southern Illinois quota zone of Alexander, Union, Jackson and Williams counties: Nov. 26-Jan. 3, 67 days or until quota of 36,100 is reached. Rend Lake Zone: Nov. 26-Jan. 31, 67 days or until quota of 6,600 is reached.

DUCKS: Nov. 11-Jan. 9, 60 days.