Duck & goose season now underway

Waterfowl hunters are now headed to their favorite wetland location for the Georgia duck hunting season as it opened on Sat., Nov. 18, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD).

The best local hunting can be found along Big Grocery Creek on Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area or along Magnolia Creek on the Ocmulgee WMA. The main species of waterfowl are wood ducks, but a few mallards and other varieties may be mixed in. Goose hunting is also available, but geese often hang out in urban areas where they are difficult to hunt. Georgia’s goose population is totally non migratory, thus they just pond hop from one local area to another in search of food.

Our geese were brought here by the truck loads in the 1970s by the Georgia DNR from the north east states where they had overtaken the habitat and became pests and were polluting water ways and ponds. From the approximate 3,000 geese that were shipped to Georgia, we now have  more than 300,000 geese!

Georgia duck hunters often like to hunt the Coastal areas. “A significant change this year, quota waterfowl hunts on Butler Island have been suspended for the 2023 season due to weather-related delays in scheduled repairs,” said Kara Nitschke, migratory gamebird biologist. “The Champney waterfowl hunts are not affected by these repairs and will be held as scheduled. Hunters who had hoped for a Butler Island blind this season can use this as an opportunity to explore some new public land spots.”

The remaining open Duck season dates are Dec. 9 – Jan. 28. Full migratory bird hunting regulations can be found at GeorgiaWildlife.com/migratory-bird-info.

To hunt waterfowl in Georgia, you need a Georgia hunting license, a Georgia migratory bird license, and a federal duck stamp (now available when you purchase your other recreational licenses). WRD has made your purchase decision even easier by the creation of the Waterfowl Hunter Package at GoOutdoorsGeorgia.com, which includes all the licenses you need (and includes an attractive plastic license card).

For more information on waterfowl hunting, visit GeorgiaWildlife.com/migratory-bird-info. I also recommend that you join Ducks Unlimited (du.org) to learn more about duck conservation and share information with local duck hunters. Let’s be safe out there! 

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