I’ve been holding off because I haven’t seen any geeses!!!! Ditto the King Eider - I did report yesterday - hunters were in the area. The King left the sandbar when a small boat approached. Eileen
Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 14, 2022, at 9:06 AM, Gerald Smith <gosh...@gisco.net> wrote: > > 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: > 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/ --
