WARDENS CRASH DOVE PARTIES
Some hunters in Halifax, Dinwiddie and Prince Edwards counties were having a great opening day dove hunt Saturday -- until the game wardens arrived. The fields being hunted were under surveillance by wardens because they had been baited, which is illegal.
Those were good hunts until the game wardens magically appeared and ruined it for everybody, said Warden Capt. Ron Henry.
Elsewhere, there was not a huge amount of activity, said Henry. Many [corn] fields have not been cut, he said.
On the good side, Henry said he did not get any reports of accidents.
BILL
GOOSE NUMBERS DOWN; HUNTERS SUCCESS UP
The number of resident Canada geese in Virginia for the September season, which opened last Thursday, is the lowest in 10 years, but the kill could be the highest since the first such season in 1993.
Officials of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries estimate that the resident goose population is 141,377. That is down from a high of 264,612 in 1998 and the lowest since 1995, when the population was estimated at 151,043.
The annual September kill has increased every year since 1993 with the exception of one. Last year it reached 17,000 birds. The only year it didnt go up was 2001.
The liberal regulations have attracted growing number of hunters, thus boosting the annual take, wildlife officials say. Hunters who enjoy the most success have access to hotspots where these birds are abundant to the point of being a nuisance. The resident goose population began to increase significantly in the 1980s and reached a peak in the 1990s.
This year early season continues through Sept. 24 with a five-per day limit.
BILL
Some hunters in Halifax, Dinwiddie and Prince Edwards counties were having a great opening day dove hunt Saturday -- until the game wardens arrived. The fields being hunted were under surveillance by wardens because they had been baited, which is illegal.
Those were good hunts until the game wardens magically appeared and ruined it for everybody, said Warden Capt. Ron Henry.
Elsewhere, there was not a huge amount of activity, said Henry. Many [corn] fields have not been cut, he said.
On the good side, Henry said he did not get any reports of accidents.
BILL
GOOSE NUMBERS DOWN; HUNTERS SUCCESS UP
The number of resident Canada geese in Virginia for the September season, which opened last Thursday, is the lowest in 10 years, but the kill could be the highest since the first such season in 1993.
Officials of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries estimate that the resident goose population is 141,377. That is down from a high of 264,612 in 1998 and the lowest since 1995, when the population was estimated at 151,043.
The annual September kill has increased every year since 1993 with the exception of one. Last year it reached 17,000 birds. The only year it didnt go up was 2001.
The liberal regulations have attracted growing number of hunters, thus boosting the annual take, wildlife officials say. Hunters who enjoy the most success have access to hotspots where these birds are abundant to the point of being a nuisance. The resident goose population began to increase significantly in the 1980s and reached a peak in the 1990s.
This year early season continues through Sept. 24 with a five-per day limit.
BILL
