Propelled by powerful, broad wings, massive birds are headed directly toward us at deceptively fast speeds.
Crouching in the blind, we waited for the first wave of feathered overcast to come into range. Soon, the large boisterously honking birds cleared the golf course on the other side of our pond. Moments later, the giant birds descended lower to look over our decoys floating on the pond.
By the early 20th century, overhunting and habitat lost greatly reduced the population of the giant Canada goose subspecies. Wildlife managers thought this magnificent bird became extinct in the 1950s. Fortunately, someone discovered a small flock in Minnesota.
From that remanent, wildlife managers began breeding and releasing the huge waterfowl all over the nation. Much larger than other Canada goose subspecies and raised in pens, the original offspring and their progeny did not migrate.
In the past few decades, exploding populations of gigantic resident honkers, sometimes derisively mocked as “golf course geese,” became pests in many places. The resident geese became so numerous that Mississippi now allows a special September season for these giant non-migratory birds.
In the summer, geese head to large waterbodies to molt, or shed their feathers. At this time, the flightless birds become vulnerable to predators, so they look for safe havens, such as parks and golf courses. The big birds can make a mess wherever they go. They leave their droppings everywhere.
As fall approaches, geese split into smaller groups and look for ripening grain to eat. The large, voracious birds can do serious damage to crop fields. They eat all the grain and pull the plants up by their roots.
By August, they replace their flight feathers. As fall approaches, geese split into smaller groups and look for ripening grain to eat. The large, voracious birds can do serious damage to crop fields. They eat all the grain and pull the plants up by their roots. A flock of geese can strip a crop field in a short time, leaving nothing, but dirt and droppings.
Therefore, many farmers hate the geese. Traditionally, many Mississippi landowners lease out portions of their properties for hunting to clubs at expensive rates. When it comes to the geese, many landowners welcome waterfowl hunters on their properties.
Sportsmen could drive around looking for concentrations of the big birds. After finding a bunch of Canada geese, they could ask the farmer or landowner for permission to hunt the property. Many landowners will greet such a request enthusiastically and quickly grant permission.
Other goose species populate Mississippi every fall and winter. At the end of the Mississippi Flyway, the Magnolia State typically attracts large numbers of migratory ducks and geese each year. The birds frequently follow the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers from their breeding grounds in the northern Great Plains down to the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi River Alluvial Valley in western Mississippi provides one of the critical wintering waterfowl habitats in North America. Lakes, rivers, and agricultural fields provide more waterfowl habitat.
The 2024 Mississippi season on resident Canada geese runs from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30 with a limit of five per person, per day. Other goose seasons open later in the fall.
