2024 Atlantic Flyway Duck Hunting Forecast
Posted 2024-09-12 by
Check out our Duck Hunting Nation Grades for Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina and more
Wood ducks are among the most common ducks taken by Atlantic Flyway hunters, from Maine south to Georgia. Photo by Gerald A. DeBoer.
Duck hunting opens soon in many areas, and hunters up and down the Eastern Seaboard are readying their gear in preparation. What will the 2024-2025 season bring? Much of that will depend on weather conditions and the ducks, but insider info can help.
Check out Realtree’s 2024 Duck Hunting Nation grades for each Atlantic Flyway state, and dig into more detail in each link.
CONNECTICUT
Bad news: Constitution State waterfowlers don’t shoot that many ducks. Good news: Pressure is relatively light (about 2,800 active duck hunters), so you’ll probably find room to pursue geese, puddlers, and even sea ducks in this small state.
DELAWARE
This small state has a long waterfowling history and features one of the most critical waterfowl wintering areas in North America. National wildlife refuges offer managed hunting opportunities, and hunters have a variety of ducks and geese to pursue.
FLORIDA
Talk about unique opportunities. Mottled ducks? Check. Whistling ducks. Yep. World-class diver shooting in balmy weather? Sure. Florida receives a high Duck Hunting Nation grade, even though waterfowlers there might have to forgo greenheads and honkers.
GEORGIA
The Peach State might be somewhat of a sleeper duck hunting state, offering solid opportunities for wood ducks, ringnecks, and other fowl. Georgia also features good diver hunting on large reservoirs, and coastal estuaries and sounds. The result? A solid Duck Hunting Nation grade.
MAINE
The Pine Tree State merits a high grade because of its unique hunting opportunities. Where else can you pursue sea ducks on the coast and then turn inland for woodies and black ducks? And as a bonus, you can eat fresh seafood every day.
MARYLAND
It’s no surprise that a state bordering the mighty Chesapeake Bay receives a high Duck Hunting Nation Grade. Maryland offers a bit of everything, including sea ducks, puddlers, and migrating divers. And the state is synonymous with Eastern Shore goose hunting.
MASSACHUSETTS
This heavily populated state still offers varied waterfowling opportunities for brant and sea ducks, plus mallards, black ducks, and other inland species. And the state has five national wildlife refuges open to hunting.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Granite State might not be a waterfowling mecca, but it offers decent shooting in an uncrowded setting (just 3,200 active duck hunters in 2023). Inland waters hold the usual puddle duck suspects, and you can chase sea ducks on the state’s 18 miles of ocean waterfront.
NEW JERSEY
The legendary swamps and coastlines of Jersey offer unmatched waterfowl hunting choices. One-third of the Atlantic Flyway’s black duck population and more than two-thirds of North America’s Atlantic brant winter in the state. And don’t forget about puddle ducks in the northern part of the state, plus sea ducks along the coast.
NEW YORK
Perhaps known more for deer and turkeys, the Empire State has loads of opportunity for puddlers, divers, and sea ducks, plus great brant shooting and inland goose hunting. Combine that with abundant public land and the state gets an A rating from Duck Hunting Nation.
NORTH CAROLINA
Here’s a Duck Hunting Nation secret: North Carolina is a really good waterfowling state. Harvest numbers don’t lie, and Tar Heel State hunters take loads of ducks every season, with wood ducks leading the way. Plus, Pamlico Sound attracts masses of migrating birds every fall, and North Carolina has a swan season. The state gets a solid A.
PENNSYLVANIA
With abundant lakes, rivers, and wetlands that attract a variety of ducks, plus good goose hunting in ag country, the Keystone State receives a B rating from Duck Hunting Nation. Licenses are relatively inexpensive, and Pennsylvania also has lots of public land to explore.
RHODE ISLAND
Everything’s relative in the country’s tiniest state, including duck hunting. Sure, hunters took fewer than 8,000 ducks in the Ocean State during the 2023 season. However, the state only has about 1,100 active waterfowl hunters. And actually, geese and puddle ducks provide good gunning, as do eiders, scoters and brant on the coast.
SOUTH CAROLINA
The Palmetto State features good duck hunting, as you might expect from a region loaded with swamps, creeks and flooded timber. And the coast offers diverse opportunities, including ringnecks and many types of puddlers. In all, the state rates as a solid B.
VERMONT
The Green Mountain State combines good goose hunting, solid duck action and low hunting pressure to earn a B from Duck Hunting Nation. Hunters commonly take lots of mallards, woodies, greenwings, and black ducks, plus goldeneyes and buffleheads on bigger water. And goose hunters can still knock on doors and secure permission.
VIRGINIA
Chesapeake Bay dominates much of Virginia’s east coast, so it’s little surprise that the Old Dominion scores a solid Duck Hunting Nation Grade. Hunters typically do well on puddle ducks inland, and take divers and sea ducks on the bay. The state also offers swan hunting.
WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia simply doesn’t have much waterfowl habitat, so Duck Hunting Nation reluctantly gives it a poor grade. Still, state hunters take respectable numbers of mallards, wood ducks, and geese. Large river corridors can provide good shooting late in the season, and hunters also do OK on geese in harvested ag fields.
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