December 2008 OutdoorIllinois / 5

The Canada goose was once a huge part of southernIllinois’ waterfowling life. Today, hunters shift strategy toavoid goose eggs.

H unters always knewwhat to expect. For aslong as anyone couldremember, when thesnows would fly in

November, Illinois waterfowlers couldcount on a reliable holiday standard: aplump Canada goose for the dinnertable. Some confident sportsmen wouldeven hunt Thanksgiving eve or morn-ing, their faith in the predictable fowlunshakable. Bringing home a Canadagoose for a meal was all but inevitable.

And why not? Canada goose huntingin Illinois was legendary, especially downin the far reaches of southern Illinoiswhere hunting clubs boasted of hugeflocks and decades of success stories.

“We were the Canada goose capitalof the nation,” explained retiredDepartment of Natural Resourceswaterfowl biologist Dennis Thornburg,an avid southern Illinois hunter. “Wewintered more Canada geese than anyother place in North America.”

It had been that way for more than ageneration, with every late autumnheralding waves of honking Canadageese winging their way into Illinoisfrom the frozen north. Chicago hunterswould drive or ride the train to destina-tions along the Illinois River or all theway down to Horseshoe Lake near Cairoor Crab Orchard National WildlifeRefuge and bag enough honkers to brag.

In southern Illinois, the Canadagoose represented nothing less than a

Story By Joe McFarlandPhotos By Adele Hodde

trademark identity—with substantialannual revenue. A Canada goose “indus-try” catering to tourists and sportsmenalike depended upon hundreds of thou-sands of the migratory waterfowl camp-ing out for the winter in the openwaters of deep southern Illinois. Sodependant upon the Canada goosewere local communities, one southern

Illinois tourism agency chose the Cana-da goose as its official logo.

Even the residents who lived therewould flock to refuges just to witnessthe annual spectacle of hundreds ofthousands of Canada geese in one place.

The Illinois

tradition of Canada

goose hunting

was built upon

decades of

success stories.

Peak migrations

in southern

Illinois reached

nearly 1 million birds.

Honk Goodbye

6 / OutdoorIllinois December 2008

“We used to drive out to CrabOrchard just to see all of the geese,”recalled 91-year-old Marjorie Martin ofCarbondale, whose late husband Paulwould take her for Sunday drives amidfields of geese. “They used to be every-where. We’d hear them flying over thehouse all winter long.”

And then things in the MississippiFlyway began to change. Annual migra-tions south began to dwindle. At firstthe decline seemed to be a fluke; onebad season could be blamed on a mildwinter with ice-free conditions allow-ing geese to remain in the north.

Then the proverbial bottom fell out.Peak migrations of nearly 1 millionCanada geese into southern Illinoiswere replaced by peak migrations oftens of thousands. Hunting clubsclosed. Goose hunters disappeared.Local economies suffered.

As residents of northeastern Illinoisare well aware today, the problemwasn’t due to a decline in Canada goosepopulations. The Canada goose flock—including the giant Canada goose oncethought to be extinct (Branta canaden-sis maxima)—was still thriving.

So what happened? The end of theonce-predictable migration of Canadageese into southern Illinois, westernKentucky and Tennessee is an evolu-tionary tale of land-use changes, urbanexpansion, agricultural innovations andonce-unimaginable adaptation amonggeese themselves. Climate change playsa major role as well.

Russell Garrison, retired site superin-tendent at Horseshoe Lake State Fishand Wildlife Area in Alexander Coun-ty—where endless flocks of geese oncefilled the ancient oxbow lake each win-ter, creating a goose-hunter’s paradise,said a major factor behind the abruptchange is the way we farm today. SinceCanada geese derive much of their win-ter food from waste grain left in agricul-tural fields, the availability of that grain(or lack of it) can either hold a flock inone area—or force it elsewhere.

“Farming has changed,” Garrisonnoted. “Back in 1968 (when I startedworking at Horseshoe Lake), as soon asthey harvested the corn they’d plowthe field and turn it all over.”

Such agricultural practices through-out the upper Midwest, where loosegrain would get buried by the ploweach fall, made Garrison’s enticing,unharvested food plots within his statefish and wildlife area an irresistible—and essential—destination for Canadageese. Site managers at Crab OrchardNational Wildlife Refuge also left hun-dreds of acres of grain available specifi-cally for the incoming geese. With theadvent of no-plow, conservation tilling,

loose grain remains on the surfacethroughout winter. Even amid moder-ate snow cover, clever Canada geese inthe north can dig up the grain and feedthemselves, never having to fly south.

And then there’s the nature of urbansprawl around Chicago, where grassygolf courses and subdivision foun-tains—even aerated ponds in industrialparks—supply Canada geese withessential winter needs. Whereas a fewCanada geese in a northeastern Illinoispark might’ve been a novel sight in1978, thousands of overwintering geesewere commonplace by 1998.

“They’re really adaptable,” Garrisonadded. Seeing geese walking in down-town Chicago during December testi-fies to the changing nature of this birdthat hunters in the south seldom seeanymore. “I’ve almost given up hunting

Cupped wings of a descending

flock were once a common sight

around Canada goose hunting

clubs in southern Illinois.

December 2008 OutdoorIllinois / 7

for Canada geese,” he admitted. “I wasused to going out there and, in 30 min-utes, you had your geese.”

And while long-established goosehunting clubs in southern Illinois wereforced to adapt to decreasing Canadagoose migrations or cease to exist, anewcomer appeared on the horizon.Snow geese, which had been a rarity,began to migrate by the tens of thou-sands into the same places Canadageese once landed. A population explo-sion in their arctic breeding groundssent hundreds of thousands of theseonce-uncommon migrants into south-ern Illinois beginning in the 1990s.Skies at dawn would be filled with thetwittering squawks of white birds flyingin irregular waves. For hunters lackingCanada geese, the new arrivals suggest-ed a new opportunity.

Yet the new windfall hasn’tpanned out.

“Snow goose hunting is justso much different than Canadagoose hunting,” biologist Thornburgpointed out. “They’re not as pre-dictable, and so it’s really hit or misswhen it comes to being able to success-fully hunt them.”

Unlike the Canada goose, which canbe brought in with a good call and agood-looking spread of decoys, snowgeese are jittery and unresponsive tohunter’s attempts to bring them withinrange. Consequently, snow goose hunt-ing in Illinois remains a luxury for thefew who can afford massive spreads ofwhite decoys in giant fields.

But Illinois still has plenty of ducks,and scores of Canada goose huntingclubs have shifted their hunting strate-gies to entice migratory ducks—andhunters—back to their properties.

“There’s a lot less goose huntingclubs around here than there used tobe,” Garrison said. “And the ones thatare left are now duck clubs.”

But not all clubs could afford theduck switch, which requires the con-struction of duck-attracting lakes andwetlands. Years ago, an ordinary farmercould lease out Canada goose huntingrights to his empty corn fields duringwinter, since the geese always showedup to pluck waste grain from the fields.Many farmers depended on their hunt-ing business to provide a balancedincome throughout the year.

And while occasional, brutal winterweather still sends a few thousandCanada geese into southern Illinoiseach winter, the trend toward warmerwinters in Illinois doesn’t bode well forthe future of the former Canada goosecapital of the world.

“Climate change is a fact,” Thornburgstated. “There will still be some Canadageese in southern Illinois. But I don’tenvision it ever being like it used to be.It’s all up to Mother Nature.”

Southern Illinois once wintered moreCanada geese than any other place in

North America. Land-use changes,urban expansion and climate change

played a role in busting that trend.

In recent years, milder winters

with less snow cover allow Canada

geese to find food in agricultural

fields and remain in the north.