This coming Tuesday, Sept. 1, is the opening day of our first fall hunting seasons, even though by the calendar fall is still nearly three weeks ahead. Like many hunters and fishermen in our area, I mark the changing of seasons by hunting and fishing seasons. And so it was when I was in my early teens and began hunting doves, my falls began with the opening of dove season.

Imagine what a shock that was to my system when fall started beginning on September 1 rather than when the general small game season opened during October, sort of like jet lag.

Foolish not in the least. Seasons are just inventions of mankind based on a manmade calendar. None of this was handed down from above. This month, August, was named for Augustus Caesar, July for Julius Caesar, and so on to honor rulers and gods we care not a bit about.

So in my world tracking the seasons by our hunting and fishing seasons makes much more sense than the official calendar.

Neither goose season nor dove season have a great impact in Warren County, though not for lack of either game bird.

My best dove hunting days happened in Warren County. But that was during a time when more people hunted doves here, more fields were planted to grains and when more land was open to dove hunting.

One of the most important factors for good dove hunting is that there are hunters in most suitable fields. This keeps the birds flying. When only a few dove hunters are afield, the doves will find a field where they are not bothered, and there they will stay.

Dove hunting during the first of the three split seasons runs from noon to sunset.

Our first goose season is the season for resident Canada geese. It begins September 1 and runs through September 25. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset, except for days that coincide with youth waterfowl hunting days when shooting hours end at sunset to meet federal regulations.

The daily bag limit for geese during the early season is eight per day. The reason for the liberal hunting regulations is to control the resident Canada goose population.

The efforts by the Pennsylvania Game Commission to establish a resident population, which began a few decades ago, has been too successful. The resident goose season has also been called the nuisance goose season. As anyone who must live with geese knows, geese are not particularly pleasant neighbors. They are noisy, and they leave large, slippery, disgusting droppings in massive quantities.

One particular place where the presence of large numbers of geese has been vexing is at Chapman State Park. Geese are fond of the grass found at the beach, rendering the area, rendering a good term by chance, nearly useless to anyone who is put off by Canada goose excrement.

I did mention how big that crap is.

Early season Canada goose hunting at Chapman State Park will not open until September 8, Tuesday. This avoids conflicts with Labor Day vacationers.

Again referring to the large and overly plentiful goose crap, geese have been the cause of high fecal coliform counts at some Pennsylvania state park swimming beaches, causing closures.

If you have questions about goose hunting at Chapman State Park stop at the park office or phone 723-0250.

Now, as a favor to beach users and everyone else whose quality of living has been diminished by our over-population of resident geese I will give you what may well be the hottest tip for successful goose hunting.

Canada geese may be the most frequently wounded game bird, at lease based on the percentage of geese that are hit by hunters shotgun loads. The reason is simple, poor choices in the loads used by goose hunters. To a great extent, this is not the fault of hunters, but of ammunition makers and writers like myself.

Stay away from magnum loads based on large shot charges. Pellets do not leave shotgun barrels with enough velocity to cleanly kill geese at anything longer than moderate distances.

Instead, check the velocity of the shot. High velocity loads typically are marked as such on the box, including velocity. Look for a load with a stated velocity of at least 1,300 fps. Faster is better.

Good luck with your early hunting seasons, and do not slip and fall on the goose crap.