Low canada geese numbers in Finger Lakes

[gnomejoe]

The late season goose population appears to be way down, at least in and around Cayuga Lake. Does anyone know the cause? Perhaps: the mild weather- Birds still up north of the Big Lake or low population overall or their in the famous "somewhere else."

[13BVET]

No shortage of those down here. In fact, there's way too many!

[Four Season Whitetail's]

They are all up here in my soybean fields. I have never seen this many up here this late in the season. I am sure its the warm weather and the open lakes in our area. No ice for ice fishin, no snow for the sleds and the geese are everywhere. This weather pattern sure is messed up.... They are callin for 1 to 2 feet of snow sunday night into monday so the geese might be off the fields soon!!!

[Doc]

Jump over a few lakes to Canandaigua if you want to see geese. The place is taken over with them.

[fasteddie]

I don't know why those Crappers are called Canada Geese . They never leave New York !

[CAM-O]

I don't know why those Crappers are called Canada Geese . They never leave New York !

X 2, Yesterday in Auburn NY, I never seen so many, unreal!

[Larry]

go up to the big lake

[HectorBuckBuster]

I think the problem with Cayuga Lake is Montezuma Swamp and the north end of lake are not frozen.

[NY Bob]

Montezuma refuge was frozen over two days ago when I was there. I saw 100 -200 geese and about two dozen swans, NO ducks sitting on the ice. I've hunted the area around cayuga lake for 25 years and this year it is a ghost town. I was out the first 4 days of this late season and saw a couple of hundred birds total we shot 4. Other years we'd have taken 40-50 by now. Today I saw ONE flock of 40-50 birds all day . Something is definitely wrong. I hope you guys in Canandiagua , Ontario lake areas and eastern NY are doing better as it's really wierd here.

Everyone within 10 miles N. or S. of us is in the same boat. I just don't know what's up

[sweet old bill]

How about at Kings Ferry area and all the cut fields...none there ? I do think the weather has a lot to do with when the differnt flocks move south.

[NY Bob]

I live just north of Kings Ferry. Nothing or at least a lot fewer than years past. Two days ago when I drove to Montezuma Refuge I kept going. I got to Phelps, turned around and went almost to Ithaca. In years past you wouldn't have been able to count or keep track of them there were so many 10,000's maybe 50,000 or more . This trip 2 days ago, I was lucky to see 1000. Damn few ducks on the lake too. Always will be a few, but nowhere near what there used to be.

From previous posts, I really do hope they are in Canandiagua, Ontario, and eastern N.Y. I would hate to think the population is down this much all over.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

I can tell you there is a pile of them down around letchworth state park but i have never seen so many up here in our bean fields. There is probably 1000 out my back door now and we didnt get the 10in of lake effect they were calling for so i guess they will be hanging out for awhile longer!!!

[HectorBuckBuster]

I think it has to be the weather. I seen tons of geese flying today in Seneca/Tompkins county. We have had a mild winter and geese seem to fly in nasty weather.I am sure maybe a small part of Montezuma was froze, but I still see ponds that are open, so that makes it hard to believe that the whole huge 100's of acres swamp is completely frozen and I bet very little of the North end of Cayuga lake is frozen yet. It may freeze a little more in the next 2 days.

[the blur]

Read the DEC site on canadian geese. they are protected, but NY has 5x the population the DEC wants to have. The DEC needs to wake up, and de-protect the goose. They need to bring the #'s back under control.

[JMP]

Thousands of birds around the three rivers area. Never seen so many birds this time of the year. We have seen a lot of snows to. We just can't seem to pick the right field lol. Once the rivers freeze up they all head to the finger lakes.

[NY Bob]

Read the DEC site on canadian geese. they are protected, but NY has 5x the population the DEC wants to have. The DEC needs to wake up, and de-protect the goose. They need to bring the #'s back under control.

Geese are a protected species ??????????

[the blur]

Geese are a protected species ??????????

protected meaning you need to follow the rules before killing them, otherwise you go to jail. they have a specific season, with a number of allowed taken... when they should be shoot on sight like pigs.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Tons of them over by me in the Honeoye area. I really should start shooting them.

[HectorBuckBuster]

I was near Lodi in Southern Seneca County this morning and seen about 10,000 plus (just a guess, but there where thousands and thousands) snow geese dropping in a field just off rt 414.

[NY Bob]

protected meaning you need to follow the rules before killing them, otherwise you go to jail. they have a specific season, with a number of allowed taken... when they should be shoot on sight like pigs.

Ok I see the difference now. In my mind "Protected" means something different. Protected to me is like an endangered species. NO hunting at all ever. Geese , deer, pheasants, rabbits, ducks squirrels etc all have seasons, bag limits, must have a license etc. I never thought of calling a critter Protected and then being allowed to shoot it during certain times.

[NY Bob]

I was out for a couple of hours today just driving around. Saw far less than 500 geese in fields and flying. I am seeing something of a biological phenomenon. Reports in this forum have large numbers of geese just about surrounding my area. They simply are not here. (Here is East side of Cayuga lake, from Montezuma Refuge South to Lansing) They just are not here like years past. Thanks to all for your reports.

[virgil]

two weeks ago while deer hunting, i was seeing strings of 100+ birds flying high overhead- one string after another. not sure where they were headed or if they were landing anywhere close. but, there were a lot of birds. my land is in cortland county, near cortland.

[ekiert515]

As for a low number of birds around cayuga lake, I beg to differ. I hunted the whole first week and we put down well over 100 birds in the aurora and union springs area in 5 days. Seeing well over 5000 birds a day. Also saw a large number of snows towards aurora the first week but they disappeared the last couple days with this cold weather we got.