Migratory Bird Seasons & Bag Limits

Name: eRegulations
Price range: $

Delaware Migratory Game bird Season Summary (INCLUDING SUNDAYS)
Ducks	Season Dates	Daily Bag Limit	Possession Limit
Ducks (Regular Season)	Oct. 26 - Nov. 3	6	18
	Nov. 25 - Dec. 1
	Dec. 14 - Jan. 26
September Teal	Sept. 14 - Sept. 29	6	18
Limited to the designated teal zone south of the C&D Canal to north of Route 9 in Lewes, and east of Routes 13, 113/113A, and 1. Bag limit may include any combination of blue-winged and/or green-winged teal.
Youth Waterfowl Hunt Youth must be age 10-15.	Sunday, Oct. 20 and Saturday, Feb. 1	See applicable species bag limits	See applicable species possession limits
During the Youth Waterfowl Hunt, participating eligible hunters may harvest ducks, mergansers, coots, moorhens, gallinules, Canada geese, snow geese, brant, and swans. The daily bag limit for each of these species is the same as their regular seasons.
Daily Bag Limits and Possession Limits
The daily limit of 6 ducks (excluding mergansers and coots) may include, in any combination, up to: 4 mallards (2 hens); 2 black ducks; 1 pintail; 2 canvasback, 3 wood ducks; 2 redheads; 1 scaup, 6 teal; 6 shovelers; 6 gadwall; 6 wigeon; 6 goldeneye; 6 ring-necked ducks; 6 bufflehead; 6 ruddy ducks; 1 mottled duck; 1 fulvous whistling-duck; 4 total sea ducks (no more than 3 scoters; 3 eiders (1 hen); 3 long-tailed ducks). The possession limit is 3 times the daily limit. The season on harlequin ducks remains closed.
Sea Ducks* Scoters, Eiders, and Long-tailed ducks	Same as Duck Season	See duck bag limits	See duck possession limits
* - There is no longer a special sea duck zone with it’s own separate season dates or daily bag and possession limits. The season dates for sea ducks are the same as the Regular Duck Season and the Daily Bag and Possession Limits are included as part of the regular daily bag and possession limits. The shooting of crippled waterfowl from a motorboat under power will be permitted in the area not less than 800 yards (1/2) mile seaward from the Delaware Bay shore or the Atlantic Ocean shore beginning at an east-west line between Port Mahon and the Elbow Cross Navigation Light, south to the Delaware-Maryland line.
Coots	Same as Duck Season	15	45
Mergansers**	Same as Duck Season	5	15
** Daily bag limit may include no more than 2 hooded mergansers (6 in possession)
Geese and Brant	Season Dates	Daily Bag Limit	Possession Limit
Canada Goose (Resident)	Sept. 1 - Sept. 25	15	45
Canada Goose (Migratory) Including White-fronted geese	Nov. 28 - Dec. 1	2	6
Canada Goose (Migratory) Including White-fronted geese	Dec. 21 - Jan. 15	2	6
Brant	Dec. 21 - Jan. 5	1	3
Brant	Jan. 18 - Jan. 31	1	3
Snow Goose Including Ross’ goose	Oct. 18 - Feb. 1	25	No limit
Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge open Mon., Wed., and Fri. with permission of Refuge Manager.
Snow Goose Conservation Order	Feb. 2 - Apr. 11	No bag or possession limits
During the Conservation Order (CO) unplugged shotguns and electronic calls may be used to harvest snow geese. Shooting hours have been extended to 1/2 hour after sunset and daily bag and possession limits have been eliminated. Hunters who wish to participate in the CO must register for a free, annual permit, available by visiting https://de.gov/DigitalDNREC (after Jan. 1st). Participants are required to re-visit this website after the CO has closed to report their harvest to the Division of Fish and Wildlife. The Snow Goose Conservation Order will be closed on Saturday, February 1, 2025 which is the second youth waterfowl day and will open on Sunday, February 2, 2025. Snow geese, including Ross’ geese, may be harvested on Saturday, February 1, 2025 within the regular season framework. No liberal methods allowed during the Conservation Order may be allowed this day and a daily bag limit of 25 applies.
Swans	Season Dates	Daily Bag Limit	Possession Limit
Tundra Swan (By special permit ONLY)	Nov. 9 - Jan. 31	1 per season	1 per season
Mute Swan	Legal to take during any open waterfowl season	No limit	No limit
(Closed during the Snow Goose Conservation Order)
Trumpeter Swan	Closed Season	0 - Closed Season	0 - Closed Season
Other Species	Season Dates	Daily Bag Limit	Possession Limit
Mourning Dove	Sept. 1 - Sept. 29¹	15	45
Mourning Dove	Oct. 19 - Oct. 27 Dec. 6 - Jan. 26	15	45
¹ During the month of September, all hunters must use non-toxic shot when dove hunting on State Wildlife Areas.
King and Clapper Rails ² Singly or in combination of the two species	Sept. 1 - Nov. 9	10²	30
Sora and Virginia Rails ³ Singly or in combination of the two species	Sept. 1 - Nov. 9	25³	75
Woodcock	Nov. 25 - Dec. 1	3	9
Woodcock	Dec. 21 - Jan. 27	3	9
Common Snipe	Sept. 24 - Dec. 1 Dec. 21 - Jan. 27	8	24
Moorhens and Gallinules	Sept. 1 - Nov. 9	15	45
Crow ⁴ Thurs., Fri., and Sat. only	July 4, 2024 - Mar. 29, 2025⁴ and Jun. 26 - 28, 2025	No Limit	No Limit
To view regulations for hunting of migratory game birds, see: • USFWS complete Federal Regulations (50 CFR Part 20): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-50/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-20 • Synopsis of Federal Regulations: http://de.gov/migbirdhuntref NOTE: When State law is different from the Federal law the hunter must comply with the most restrictive law. NOTE: The shooting hours for all mute swans and migratory game birds, including waterfowl except during the Snow Goose Conservation Order, are 1/2 hour before sunrise until sunset. NOTE: No person shall have more than three times the daily bag limit of migratory birds at any one time when it is lawful to possess such wildlife. Any migratory bird that has been processed and stored for consumption at a person’s permanent residence shall not count against the hunter’s possession limit. NOTE: You cannot put or leave waterfowl at any place or in the custody of another person unless you tag the birds with your signature, address, number of birds identified by species, and the date you killed them.