Duck Hunting Season Dates Announced

Using a new process this year, the dates have been announced for duck hunting in New York.

Each year, the DEC works with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Atlantic Flyaway Council to develop waterfowl hunting regulations and season dates.

This year, the DEC with assistance from 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 season dates offer the opportunity to hunt from early October through the last week of 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.

The season dates for the five zones for species of duck, coots, and mergansers are:

Western Zone
Oct. 17 - Nov. 8
Nov. 28 - Jan. 3

Northeast Zone
Oct. 3 - Oct. 25
Oct. 31 - Dec. 27

Lake Champlain
Oct. 10 - Nov. 1
Nov. 21 - Dec. 27

Southeast
Oct. 17 - Nov. 29
Dec. 5 - Dec. 20

Long Island
Nov. 21 - Nov. 29
Dec. 12 - Jan. 31

More information can be found on the DEC website.

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