04 Apr 2007 - My name
is Corey Marchbank and I live in Miscouche,
Prince Edward Island, Canada. I’m 35 years
old and a father of twin girls. I work as
a goose hunting guide, which means that
I take goose hunters out to the field. I
began hunting with my father not long after
I learned to walk, and my love of the outdoors
led me to become a professional guide 14
years ago. I hunt with clients from the
United States and other Canadian provinces.
For decades, the grain and potato fields
around my home have been the primary location
for consistent, high quality goose hunting,
though lately things have been changing.
In recent years I have noticed a dramatic
rise in temperatures, a decrease of winter
snow and ice, and how these changes have
been affecting the migration patterns of
Canadian geese in this region.
Mosquitoes in November
Goose hunting season starts on the first
Monday in October and ends the second Saturday
in December. Usually during the first opening
the weather is a bit chilly but, over the
last two years, right up to November, we
were still swatting mosquitoes, wearing
T-shirts and sneakers — not our hunting
jackets as it used to be.
We used to get snow by 1November, but now
we’re lucky to get snow by Christmas. During
the winter of 2006-07 there wasn’t more
than a week of good snowmobiling weather.
In years past, snowmobiling was good from
Christmas through spring. And I remember
when I was a kid, you’d go outside and the
snow would be up to the level of the power
lines and there were warnings on the radio
not to let the kids out. I haven’t seen
that in a long time.
Where are the geese?
With the increase in fall temperatures,
Canadian geese are migrating south much
later in the year. When it eventually gets
cold and they migrate through Prince Edward
Island, the geese hang out in the local
bays and estuaries instead of collecting
spent grain and potatoes from the agricultural
fields. This is happening for a couple of
reasons. First, the waters have not been
freezing over like they used to. Second,
without the cold temperatures, the geese
don’t have the same pressure to stock up
on food before continuing their migration
south. With the hot sunny days we’ve been
having, the geese tend stay out on the water
and don’t come inland at all. It’s a big
change.
And now, some of the geese are even staying
around all year. I’ve never seen geese do
this. They’re opportunists though, and if
it’s mild around here, they’ll stick around
and take advantage of it.
Usually the first two weeks of the hunting
season are the best hunting that you have
the whole season. Now, most hunters are
going home with nothing. During the last
two years, on opening day, we haven’t shot
a single goose. I have a group of four guys
that come every year, and just like clock-work,
they expect to get their geese. But the
last two years on opening day they didn’t
get any. Clients are starting to say to
me, "Gee, do you remember when we used
to go out and the geese were everywhere
and now you can go out on opening day and
not see any geese at all?"
Local consequences
If the hunting remains poor for another
year or two my clients from the US and other
Canadian provinces will probably stop coming.
This won’t only hurt local guides like me,
but will also affect local farmers too.
During the off season, the farms really
welcome the additional income from leasing
their fields before winter. Good fields
can be leased for up to US$4,000.
All the guides are in the same boat. We’re
scratching our heads while our clients are
sitting out in the fields with sun tan lotion
and bug spray.
Local government is now starting to consider
changing the season to accommodate the new
migration timing by moving the opening to
a later start date by a week or more. But
change from government comes slow.
Scientific background
Climate analysis for eastern Canada shows
that this region has experienced warming
by 1 to 2°C over the past 100-200 years.
