My question is are any of these species legal to take in NY? I suspect the geese may not be while the ducks probably are. I applaud keeping information out of e-bird but also letting environmental conservation officers know that some bad apples may be skirting the rules. While one wishes to avoid all out war a few skirmishes might be in order. Interesting problem you have down there as I suspect most of the northern NY sportsperson community would be oblivious of e bird Good Luck
Birds rise above it all > On Jan 14, 2022, at 8:12 AM, Patricia Lindsay <gelocheli...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > With the hunting season now upon us, and the Waterfowl Count starting on > Saturday, we would like to make a serious plea that birders and photographers > not post reports of rare geese from Riverhead and the East End of Long Island > on eBird, Facebook, this listserv, or any other social media platform until > the end of the season. > > It has become very clear here on LI that hunters have caught on to eBird, the > listservs, and social media, and are targeting the rare geese (and ducks > also) using information obtained from birders. One of the only Pink-footed > Geese in the Riverhead area last winter was shot this way, and we personally > know of other cases involving Ross's and Barnacle Geese (and King Eiders, > etc.). A Greylag Goose, very likely of wild origins and if so, extremely > rare, was also shot in this area a few years ago. > > The problem is most acute in the Riverhead area and on the South Fork, from > November to the end of hunting season (9 Feb for Canada Goose, 6 Mar for Snow > Goose). We understand that the birding community does not want war with the > hunters, but the situation here is very sensitive--everybody knows the very > limited number of specific fields used by the geese, and it seems a shame > that the rarer species are being exposed to this level of danger. > > We would suggest Cackling, Ross's, Barnacle, Pink-footed, and Greater > White-fronted Geese, and of course any mega rare species, seen in these areas > not be reported until hunting season ends or at least until the geese seem to > have moved on. > > Cackling and Greater White-fronted Goose may be taken legally as part of the > Canada Goose bag limits. Snow and Ross's Geese may be taken as part of the > Snow Goose bag limits. The others are not listed as game species on the DEC > website so apparently were taken illegally. > > By making this one small sacrifice, we might just be able to save a few birds > and get to enjoy them longer. > > Thanks for your consideration. > > Best, > > Shai Mitra and Pat Lindsay > Bay Shore > > > -- > NYSbirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > ABA > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
