No, the late duck hunting season has not always overlapped with our count. It's only been a problem in the last 10 years or so. I remember being shocked the first time the opening day was 1 January. I had never experienced any such disruption in the previous decade of the count.
The duck season can change every year if the DEC decides to do it. It has started on 1 Jan for the last few years, but started earlier this year. So, if we had moved our count back to this last weekend, we would have been just as bad off. I believe the length, timing, and even existence of waterfowl seasons are tied to duck productivity numbers so that they can be responsive to population changes. I'm not sure there even WAS a late duck season 20 years ago. The only predictable and reliable date in any of this is that most people have 1 January off. Everything else changes with the year. Kevin -----Original Message----- From: bounce-111406900-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-111406900-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of bob mcguire Sent: Monday, December 30, 2013 10:19 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Christmas Bird Count and Hunting Pressure In an effort to move the discussion towards some sort of resolution, I have have a couple of questions. Does anyone have answers? 1) Has the late waterfowl hunting season overlapped with the Ithaca CXBC for ever? If not, since when? 2) Who (office or person) in the DEC sets the season dates? Is it strictly a matter for the DEC, or is US Fish & Wildlife involved? 3) I know we have a TRADITION of counting on New Year's Day. (And I love to start the new year this way.) But would counting on a different day change the value of the data we collect? And in a significant manner? Chris T-H: If this discussion gets too far off topic for the listserve, let us know! Bob McGuire -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
