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Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 



Vol. 2j, Art. 2 



borderline states have been shifted 

 from one zone to another from time to 

 time. Hunters in certain borderline 

 states prefer to have their states in the 

 northern zone because of the later open- 

 ing date in the central zone. 



Recent shifts in the populations of 

 various waterfowl species and the va- 

 riety of experiments in setting the dates 

 and lengths of the waterfowl hunting 

 seasons suggest a need for additional 

 information on the seasonal waterfowl 

 flight and kill in various sections of the 

 country. If lowered waterfowl popu- 

 lations necessitate shortening of the 

 shooting season, it is important to 

 adjust the open season to a time that 

 favors any endangered species and yet 

 furnishes hunting that is as good as 

 possible under the circumstances. On 

 the other hand, if increases in the water- 

 fowl populations seem to justify a 

 lengthening of the shooting season, it is 

 equally important to adjust the dates 

 to place the greatest pressure on the 

 species that can best withstand in- 

 creased shooting. 



Shooting Hours.— The Migratory 

 Bird Act regulations of 1913 provided 

 that there be no waterfowl hunting be- 

 tween sunset and sunrise. The Mi- 

 gratory Bird Treaty Act regulations of 

 1918 stipulated shooting hours of one- 

 half hour before sunrise to sunset. 

 Since 1918, shooting hours have changed 

 from time to time upon recommenda- 

 tion of the Secretary of Agriculture, 

 1918 through June 30, 1939, and the 

 Secretary of the Interior, July 1, 1939, 

 to date. Table 1 gives the changes in 

 shooting hours from 1929 to the present. 

 They have gone through a complete 

 cycle: from one-half hour before sun- 

 rise to sunset, then from sunrise to 

 sunset, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., from sun- 

 rise to 4 P.M., again from sunrise to sun- 

 set, and finally, in 1943 and 1944, from 

 one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. 



Bag Limit. — Legal restrictions on 

 the take of waterfowl have been in 

 operation since 1887 (Palmer 1912), 

 when the federal government limited the 

 number of ducks that could be taken 

 per day in the Dakota Territory to 25. 

 Illinois did not have a duck bag limit 

 until 1903, when the number of ducks 

 taken by a shooter in a day was limited 



to 50. In 1905, the Illinois limit was 

 lowered to 35 per day; in 1907 to 20; 

 and in 1909 to 15. From 1918 through 

 1929, federal regulations limited the 

 daily bag to 25. During those years 

 the Illinois bag limit remained at 15, 

 10 under the federal limit. In 1930 the 

 federal limit became 15, and since then 

 the Illinois bag limit has conformed to 

 the federal limit: in 1930 and the 2 

 following years it was 15; in 1933 and 



1934 it dropped to 12 per day; from 



1935 to date it has been 10 per day, 

 except that in 1944 five additional 

 mallards, widgeons or pintails could be 

 taken. As the nation's waterfowl sup- 

 ply dwindled, bag limits were reduced 

 in an effort to restrict the kill. 



Favoring Depleted Species. — Regu- 

 lations authorized by the Migratory 

 Bird Act of 1913 placed a 5-year closed 

 season on swans, certain other migra- 

 tory game birds and, in a number of 

 states, wood ducks. The Migratory 

 Bird Treaty Act of 1918 in giving effect 

 to the Treaty of 1916 extended the 

 closed season on swans and placed a 

 closed season on wood ducks for at 

 least 5 years in all states. The pro- 

 tection has been extended but in recent 

 years somewhat altered. Commencing 

 in 1932, several other species have been 

 given increased or complete protection. 

 Ruddy ducks and buflleheads could not 

 be taken legally from 1932 through 

 1937; canvasbacks and redhead ducks 

 were placed on the closed list in 1936 

 and 1937. There was, in 1932, a daily 

 limit of not more than 10 of any one, 

 or in the aggregate of two or more, of 

 the following species: canvasback, red- 

 head, greater scaup, lesser scaup, ring- 

 neck, blue-winged teal, green-winged 

 teal, cinnamon teal, shoveler and gad- 

 wall. (Scientific names of duck species 

 common in Illinois are listed in table 

 12.) In 1933 not more than eight alone 

 or in the aggregate of the above named 

 species could be taken, and in 1934 not 

 more than five alone or in the aggregate.! 

 In 1938, 1939 and 1940, it was per-i 

 missible to take three alone or in the 

 aggregate of ruddy, bufllehead, redhead 

 and canvasback ducks. In 1941, 1942 

 and 1943, this limit was left on the red-, 

 heads and buffleheads but removed' 

 from the others. In 1944, it was re- 



