Waterfowl News for 2019-2020

• Due to a slow, but steady decline in mallards across the northeastern United States, the mallard daily bag limit has been reduced from four birds (two hens) per day to two birds (one hen) per day (PDF)
• The Canada goose season length in the Northeast, West Central, East Central, Hudson Valley, and Lake Champlain zones has been reduced from 50 days to 30 days and the bag limit has been reduced from three per day to two per day (PDF)
• The northern pintail bag limit has been reduced from two per day to one per day.

Youth Waterfowl Hunting Opportunities

Duck hunting seasons begin with designated “youth waterfowl hunts” across the state. These hunts allow youth hunters to spend time afield with experienced adult hunters and gain necessary knowledge and skills to become safe and responsible members of the hunting community. Junior hunters (12 to 15 years of age) accompanied by a licensed adult hunter with up-to-date Harvest Information Program registration and a duck stamp may participate.

During the youth hunt, the adult hunter may not possess a firearm or shoot any birds unless the respective regular season is open. Daily bag limits are the same as those allowed during the regular hunting season for all species (excludes September Canada goose bag limits). The youth hunts are held on weekends in each zone of the state, as follows:

• Southeastern Zone – Sept. 21-22
• Northeastern Zone – Sept. 21-22
• Lake Champlain Zone – Sept. 28-29
• Western Zone – Oct. 5-6
• Long Island Zone – Nov. 9-10

Duck Hunting Season Dates

Each year, DEC works with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Atlantic Flyway Council to develop waterfowl hunting regulations and season dates. This year, DEC, with the assistance of Cornell University and the waterfowl hunter task forces, implemented a new process for selecting the 60-day duck season dates within the dates allowed by the USFWS. New York duck seasons offer opportunity to hunt from the first week of October through the last Sunday in January, depending on the waterfowl hunting zone. By having five waterfowl zones, it allows DEC to select dates that maximize duck abundance in each zone which varies based on habitat and latitude.

2019-2020 Canada Goose Seasons

Canada goose hunting regulations can often be confusing because of the number of zones, varied bag limits and season lengths. Although some of the boundaries and bag limit differences appear to be random, they were designed using scientific data to maximize opportunity for resident Canada geese, but also to protect migratory populations that are much more sensitive to hunter harvest. Season lengths and bag limits are, again, developed in collaboration between the USFWS and the Atlantic Flyway Council. After the season frameworks are established (e.g., season length, bag limits, outside allowable dates), DEC gathers input from waterfowl hunters and the waterfowl hunter task forces to select dates that maximize opportunity for hunters in each zone.

Bag Limits for all Other Species

There are no changes to season dates or bag limits for any of the other webless migratory game birds (rails, gallinules, snipe, and American woodcock). For more information and season dates for these species, please visit DEC’s website.