Everything you need to know about hunting specklebellies (aka the greater white-fronted goose)

THE SPECS ON SPECKS

Greater white-fronted geese are medium-sized Arctic nesters that breed from the western shore of Hudson Bay to Alaska, and winter predominantly along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas, as well as in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Their proper common name is a tribute to their white facial patch, but the hunting community generally refers to them as “specklebellies” or “specks,” owing to the dark blotches and bars on the breasts of adult birds. The rest of their plumage is gray-brown, with white markings on the tail, rump and flanks; juvenile birds have rather drab brownish feathering. Adults have distinctive orange legs and pinkish bills, while juveniles have yellowish legs and bills.

As with most Arctic-nesting geese, the speck population has grown significantly in recent decades. In the early 1970s, the total population was estimated at 500,000 birds; by 2010, numbers had climbed to around 3.5 million. Since then, there’s been a short-term decline to approximately 2.5 million birds, driven by poor breeding success similar to that of other Arctic-nesting geese.

The specklebelly’s fall migratory path has changed over time, largely due to agricultural changes on their wintering grounds. In the early 1990s, they rarely ventured to central Alberta in the fall, but today they regularly visit that region across to eastern Saskatchewan, where grain and pulse crops provide an important food source.