Hunters won’t be able to drive onto Howland Island because the bridge was condemned a decade ago. To reach the island from the west, take Exit 41 from the New York State Thruway, proceed north on Route 414 to Clyde and turn east on Route 31 to Savannah. Continue east to the end of Carncross Road, and walk across the temporary bridge over the Seneca River.

Hunters traveling from the east should take Thruway Exit 40 south on Route 31 through Weedsport to Port Byron. Turn north on Route 38 for about four miles to Howland Island Road, then walk across the old bridge over the Erie Canal.

GREAT LAKES
Lakes Erie and Ontario, and their associated bays, inlets and wetlands are at the top of every upstate goose hunter’s list during the late seasons. These shoreline waters offer classic Atlantic Flyway shooting as northern weather patterns push birds south.

Weather remains the essential element at this season of the year, when flights are more unpredictable. But plenty of geese will be hanging around wherever there is food and water. The good news is that these two lakes offer many hunting possibilities. Here are some examples:

Dunkirk Harbor
A warmwater discharge from a power plant on Lake Erie’s shore attracts birds and hunters alike. The most effective technique is using a boat to reach the breakwater at the harbor’s entrance, and enticing birds within shotgun range with both decoys and calls. Camouflage clothing and netting are highly recommended to set up on the exposed rocks.

It’s tempting to use a small boat to cross the harbor, but that could be a risky decision under frigid, windy conditions. Advice from the experts is to “use enough boat.”

To reach Dunkirk Harbor, take Exit 59 from the Thruway and then continue north on Route 5 (Lake Shore Drive), to the harbor park. A public boat launch lies off Route 5.

Oswego Harbor
Similar breakwater shooting on Lake Ontario is available at Oswego Harbor, where local experts claim the East Wall is the best place for a hunt. Wind affects the shooting here, just as it can plague fishermen at other seasons. Briefly, a west wind pushes geese off the lake into more protected bays and sloughs. But on sunny, relatively quiet days, hunters should find plenty of feeding flights of geese trading through this area.

Oswego Harbor is reached by way of Route 481 from Syracuse, or by Route 401, which runs along the Lake Ontario shore. Access to the breakwaters is from Wright’s Marina, a public launch provided by the city of Oswego.

Lake Ontario Bays
The shallow bays and marshes along Lake Ontario’s shoreline offer fantastic waterfowling opportunities during the early seasons, but they could be covered with ice by year’s end. Large numbers of Canadas spend the year here, and that’s good enough for most hunters!

It’ll be a tossup whether geese or ice-fishermen will be populating the largest embayments, such as Sodus Bay, Sandy Pond and Chaumont Bay. The day before a hunt, you can easily check out these major sites regarding ice conditions. But several others should be explored, such as the Braddock Bay WMA -- 2,300 acres of marsh and uplands that provide access to a series of small bays west of Rochester off the Lake Ontario State Parkway. Also try the Lake Shore Marshes WMA, with 6,179 acres of similar habitat in Wayne County between Sodus Bay and Fair Haven. Access is by way of local roads leading north from Route 104.