Virginia
218,700
Duck Statewide Harvest
78,200
Goose Statewide Harvest
21,200
No. Waterfowl Licenses Sold Annually
11.6
Ducks Per Hunter
6.5
Geese Per Hunter
$23
Cost of Resident Waterfowl Hunting License
$10
Cost of Resident State Stamps and Permits
$25
Federal Duck Stamp
$111; three-day license $60
Cost of Non-Resident Waterfowl Hunting License
$10
Cost of Non-Resident State Stamps and Permits
$25
Federal Duck Stamp
Photo by Brian E. Kushner
Much like South Carolina, Virginia's eastern coast probably elevates the state to a B grade. The Chesapeake Bay area is a classic waterfowling mecca and still offers good shooting.
Mallards top the harvest list, but Old Dominion hunters also take good numbers of woodies, gadwalls, black ducks and other puddlers. Divers provide great opportunity, too, as hunters shoot lots of scoters, tons of buffleheads and good numbers of canvasbacks, redheads, bluebills and ringnecks. Goose hunters fare well, too. As an added treat, Virginia also offers swan hunting.
The state has some quota hunts for waterfowl, available by application only, at properties such as Hog Island, Princess Anne, Dick Cross, Game Farm Marsh and other wildlife areas. Some military installations — Fort Barfoot, Fort Walker and Quantico Marine Corps Base, for example — have lots of beaver ponds and offer good wood duck shooting. Some restrictions and additional regulations apply.
