A waterfowl season that shapes up as a harbinger of change begins Saturday on Colorado’s Western Slope with the usual prospect of bright days and dumb birds. Where things go from there is anyone’s guess.
Hunters east of the Continental Divide will chime in Oct. 4 with an area-wide duck hunt and early goose chases in four specified enclaves. Unless water conditions in the prairie regions to the north improve markedly, this could be the last free-wheeling duck hunt for a while. More about that later.
For the moment, enthusiasts can content themselves with good numbers of home-raised birds lulled by months of easy living. Hunters with access to foothills greenswards, to ponds and gently flowing streams, find this early season a glorious, shirt-sleeve opportunity to bag a few birds and pop them on the grill in time to catch the afternoon football on TV. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Most intriguing are the early goose hunts in three mountain valleys and in a semi-urban checkerboard immediately north and south of Denver, where hunters are urged to take revenge on large birds that spent the summer defiling golf courses and parks. Pick the right spot and you’ll be home in time for the early games.
You’ll find these foolish geese along the upper Front Range, in the San Luis Valley and in North Park and South Park. The latter area has been expanded to include certain neighboring counties. Consult a Division of Wildlife brochure for specific boundaries.
Early duck hunting also will feature local birds, along with stray teal still dawdling in Colorado’s Indian Summer. These numbers typically don’t change much in eastern Colorado.
The major annual adjustments come in these high mountain valleys, where favorable water conditions can produce a bounty of birds. This is particularly true in the San Luis Valley, where hunters flock to the public shooting zones of the Alamosa-Monte Vista National Wildlife Area, and the similar Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge in North Park.
Reports of last winter’s runoff would suggest a bountiful water year, with good nesting conditions, but such was not the case.
Clark Dirks, deputy project leader at Monte Vista, reported that a dry, cold spring spoiled the valley’s early promise.
“We stayed frozen late into March when a lot of birds showed up. I think a lot of them just flew past,” Dirks said.
With water conditions no better than normal, numbers of nesting ducks turned up less than average.
“Opening weekend probably will have fair hunting, but with a smaller number of birds, they’ll get smart in a hurry,” Dirks predicted.
North Park received lots of water, but construction projects to replace control structures on certain refuge ponds caused them to be dry, a loss both of nesting area and places to hunt. Refuge manager Ann Timmerman recommends hunters arrive the day before their hunt to determine which ponds are available.
Duck enthusiasts also will be taking a long gaze into the crystal ball of water circumstances on the major prairie production areas of the U.S. and Canada. This season’s 9 percent decline in total duck numbers was cause for official worry. A 30 percent dip in the pond count prompted even more concern.
Continued poor conditions might prompt a reduction in hunting dates and bag limit.
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
DUCKS
Central Flyway
Youth: Saturday-Sunday
Regular season: Mountain/Foothills Zone Oct. 4-Nov. 30 and Dec. 19-Jan.25.
Eastern Plains Zone Oct. 4-20 and Nov. 8-Jan. 25. Pintail and canvasback may be taken only until Nov. 11 in Mountain/Foothills Zone, Nov. 29 in Eastern Plains Zone.
Bag limit: Six ducks, excluding mergansers, no more than five mallards, of which no more than two can be females; one pintail; one canvasback; two redheads; one mottled duck; two wood ducks; two scaup. Also, five mergansers of which no more than two may be hooded; 15 coots. No canvasback or pintail may be taken after November 29. Possession limit is twice the daily bag.
Pacific Flyway
Youth: Oct. 18-19.
Regular season: Saturday- Oct. 12, Oct. 29-Jan. 25.
Bag limit: Seven ducks and mergansers, of which no more than two may female mallards, one pintail, two redheads, two scaup. No scaup can be hunted after Jan. 6; canvasback may not be hunted at all, 25 coots. Possession limit twice the daily bag.
GEESE
Central Flyway
Early season: Oct. 4-15 Northern Front Range, North Park, San Luis Valley, South Park.
Bag limit: Four dark geese, possession eight. Unlimited for light geese. Regular season: Nov. 15-Feb. 15. Bag limit: 4/8 dark geese.
Light goose season: Nov. 1-Feb. 15. Daily bag limit 20, no possession limit.
Light goose conservation order Feb. 16-April 30. No bag or possession limit.
Pacific Flyway
Regular season: Saturday-Oct. 3, Oct. 29-Jan. 25. Bag limit: 3/6 dark geese.
Light goose season: Concurrent with regular season. Bag limit 1 0/20.
