WATERFOWL HUNTING REGULATIONS : DUCKS (INCLUDING MERGANSERS).

Byline: Compiled by Brett Pauly

Hunting Season: Oct. 10 to Jan. 17 for Southern California, Southern San Joaquin Valley and Balance of State zones. Colorado River Zone is Oct. 9 to Jan. 17. Northeastern California Zone is Saturday through Jan. 17.

Limits: Daily bag limit: Seven. Daily bag-limit makeup: Up to seven mallards but not more than two females, one pintail, one canvasback and two redheads of either sex. Possession limit: double the daily bag limit and makeup.

Comments: Numbers appear lower this year. The Pacific flyway index suggests counts were down about 8 percent in July as compared to July 1997; more recent research by Department of Fish and Game biologists show little change. Less intentional flooding of private rice grounds in the Sacramento Valley means fewer birds. Good news: Water in the San Joaquin Valley and San Jacinto and Imperial wildlife areas is spread well and should be attractive to game.

GEESE (Southern California Zone)

Hunting Season: Oct. 17 to Jan. 17.

Limits: Bag limit and makeup: five per day; up to three may be white geese and two may be dark geese, but only one of those may be a cackling goose. Possession limit: double the daily bag limit and makeup.

Comments: Early-season hunting is nearly non-existent since birds don't fly this far slow until much later on. The assumption is that regional birds, which wing via the Colorado River flyway and not the Pacific corridor used by their brethren to the north, will be found in good numbers. Hunting is productive in Imperial County and around the cities of Riverside, Chino and San Diego.

GEESE (remainder of the state)

Hunting Season: Oct. 31 to Jan. 17 for Southern San Joaquin Valley and Balance of State zones. Oct. 10 to Jan. 17 for Colorado River Zone. Northeastern California Zone is Saturday to Oct. 25 for white-fronted and cackling geese, and Saturday to Jan. 3 for other species.

Limits: For Southern San Joaquin Valley, Balance of State and Northeastern California zones, the daily bag limit is three, which can be made up of three white geese or up to two dark geese, of which only one may be a cackling goose. The possession limit is double the daily bag limit and makeup. Limits for the Colorado River Zone are similar to those of Southern California.

Comments: Canada geese - resilient birds able to nest in wide-ranging areas - fared well in Northern California with excellent precipitation from El Nino-fueled winter storms. Many years of upswing breeding in Alaskan and Northern Canadian tundra equate to healthy populations of white-fronted and snow geese flying south for the winter. Most geese are harvested in Colusa and Merced counties.

AMERICAN COOT, COMMON MOORHEN

Hunting Season: Oct. 10 to Jan. 17 for Southern California, Southern San Joaquin Valley and Balance of State zones. Colorado River Zone is Oct. 9 to Jan. 17. Northeastern California Zone is Saturday through Jan. 17.

Limits: 25 per day, 25 in possession, either all of one species or a mixture of these species.

Comments: State does little monitoring of populations since numbers don't differ much from year to year because the birds breed in permanent waters; but species seem to be holding their own with no indication of troubles. Migratory rails, not waterfowl, they don't decoy well. The moorhen looks like a small, brown coot.

BLACK BRANT

Hunting Season: Nov. 10 to Dec. 9 statewide.

Limits: Two per day, four in possession.

Comments: The season was postponed by 10 days from the traditional schedule due to a conflict with periods of high non-consumptive use on congested hunting areas during early November. Birds often winter in the San Diego Bay area. Hunted from shore or boats, especially sculls, over decoys set up in saltwaters. Different than gunning for ducks and geese; shooters need tidal charts, and salt is corrosive to guns.

Notes: Hunting of Aleutian geese is prohibited. The allowed daily pintail duck take was reduced from three birds this year due to drought conditions and lower breeding success in Canada.

For further information, including falconry provisions, consult the Department of Fish and Game waterfowl hunting regulations or call the DFG regional office in Long Beach at [phone].

An annual resident waterfowl-hunting license is $27.05 or $6.85 for juniors ages 15 and younger. A required state duck stamp is $10.50; a federal migratory bird-hunting stamp is $15.

Regulations for the taking of common snipe, which for years were included with waterfowl hunting, are now listed with upland game birds under migratory webless species - even though the snipe is not an upland game bird, but a wetlands variety. Snipe season runs from Saturday through Jan. 17; bag limit is eight per day, 16 in possession.

Comments provided by Dennis Becker, a DFG senior wildlife biologist at Grizzly Island Wildlife Area near Fairfield, and other DFG resources.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Mallard

(2--Color) Canvasbacks