Most states in the Northeast offer three distinct goose-hunting periods starting in September and running into mid-February. The second, or middle goose-hunting season is open during some portion of November in all our coastal New England states. Unlike the early and late bonus seasons, however, bag limits are restricted to two birds per day in every state (except for one area of Connecticut -- the AFRP Unit -- which allows five birds) in the 11th month.

That's because migrant Canada geese move southward through the Northeast during late fall, and their population is less stable than the burgeoning numbers of resident geese, which our region has in great abundance.

The logic here is simple: In September, the migrants haven't arrived yet, and by January, they've finished commuting through our region. In theory, only the resident birds are present early and late in the year.

Therefore, when you shoot five-bird limits in September, January or February, it's a safe bet that you'll be helping to thin out our swelling native goose population rather than impacting the migrants.

According to regional waterfowl biologists, the goose outlook for 2009-2010 is good yet somewhat mixed. The northeastern United States had an unusually chilly spring, which affected hatch rates. Nonetheless, goose numbers will be steady and huntable for the late fall season, but they may not be near the peak density of years past.

"Resident goose production was pretty good in Connecticut this year," said biologist Min Huang, Connecticut's Migratory Gamebird Program leader. "From all reports, it was pretty good throughout the Northeast. Thus, there should be a fair number of young in the fall flocks of resident geese.

"Migrant groups of Atlantic Population (AP) and North Atlantic Population (NAP) birds will have lower-than-average production due to the cool and wet spring, which came at least three weeks later than normal. Both the AP and NAP breeding pair estimates for 2009 are slightly higher than in 2008, but with the lowered production of each population, the fall flight will likely be similar to last year," Huang added.

This year's hunting regulations will not be finalized until shortly before this issue hits the newsstands. However, last year's dates, zones and bag limits should be very similar to this season's and are provided here. Before heading out, be sure to log onto your state's wildlife department Web site, listed below, for updated regulations.

Some states, like Connecticut, have now made licenses available only online, so if you haven't done so in the past, be sure not to wait until the last minute to register, because you may not be in their online database.

In that case, you'll need to call during normal work hours and talk to an attendant. In other words, if you wait until Friday night, you may have to miss Saturday's hunt and wait until Monday morning to purchase a new license.

Here is a look at some of the best bets for public-access November goose hunting near you:

CONNECTICUT
Connecticut, like most states, divides its waterfowling regulations by zones. The boundary line for the two zones -- North and South -- is Interstate Route 95, which conveniently separates inland areas from salt marshes. Connecticut has also recently divided its goose-hunting zones into three units: The two coastal sections are the AFRP Unit, which is west of New Haven Harbor, and the NAP-H Unit, which is east of New Haven Harbor. (See the state's migratory waterfowl guidelines for specific details of demarcation lines.)