Photo by Cathy & Gordon ILLG

It's December, and most of the hunting attention in Pennsylvania is focused on deer, but deer aren't the only game in town during this busy month. In fact, one of the hottest hunting opportunities of the year occurs during December, and it has nothing to do with deer.

December is prime time for hunting Canada geese, especially east of the Susquehanna River. In eastern Pennsylvania, migratory geese headed south from their breeding grounds in Canada are thick at this time of year. Some flocks will move through this part of the state and into Maryland or Delaware, but southeastern Pennsylvania is the ultimate wintering destination for a substantial number of birds.

According to population estimates provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the number of migratory Canada geese headed for Pennsylvania this year is higher than it has been in 20 years. When you add in the increasing numbers of resident geese that never leave the state, it's easy to understand why many Keystone State waterfowlers believe the good old days of goose hunting are right now.

According to John Dunn, the Pennsylvania Game Commission's chief waterfowl biologist, the state's resident goose population in 2004 was estimated at 299,000. That's up from the 254,000 estimate from 2003 and well above the 10-year average of 216,000.

As far as migratory Canadas are concerned, eastern Pennsylvania is a major migration route for birds in the Atlantic Flyway, hence the name Atlantic Population of Canada geese. In 2004, USFWS biologists estimated there were 174,000 breeding pairs of Atlantic Population geese. That figure represents a remarkable recovery for this population from just a decade ago.

Back in 1995, Atlantic Population goose numbers were estimated at 29,000 breeding pairs -- a significant drop from the 1988 estimate of 118,000 pairs. As a result of the sharp decline, all goose hunting outside the September season was closed in southeast Pennsylvania from 1995 through 1998 to help the population rebound. The change affected Keystone State hunters in a big way because southeastern Pennsylvania is the state's primary host for wintering, migratory Canadas.

During the moratorium years, the USFWS set a goal of maintaining 150,000 breeding pairs. When that number was reached, the population would be deemed to have recovered. In 2003, the population hit 156,900 breeding pairs -- the first time it exceeded the target goal.

Thanks to the population rebound, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last year boosted the daily bag limit for Pennsylvania's Atlantic Population Zone from two to three geese during the traditional fall and winter seasons.

Unlike other huntable species in Pennsylvania, Canada geese and all waterfowl are not managed according to the Game Commission's wildlife management unit system.

For Canadas, the state is divided into three zones -- the Atlantic Population Zone, Resident Population Zone and Southern James Bay Population Zone. The Southern James Bay Zone is in the extreme northwest corner of the state, the southeast corner of the state comprises the Atlantic Population Zone, and the rest of the state is considered the Resident Population Zone. For this article, we're talking about areas in the last two zones.

Hunting seasons and bag limits for waterfowl in 2005-06 are expected to mirror last year's. Expect the winter season in the Atlantic Population Zone to open around the middle of December, with a three-bird daily bag limit, with one exception: The bag limit will be one bird per day on State Game Lands 46, which surrounds the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area on the Lancaster-Lebanon county line.

In the Resident Population Zone, the winter season last year began Dec. 10, and hunters were permitted to take five birds per day.