Atlantic Flyway Duck Season 2026-27: MD, NJ & PA

The Atlantic Flyway's regular duck season is about to open from the mountains of western Maryland to the New Jersey coast. For 2026-27, hunters in Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania get a slightly more generous pintail and scaup limit, a two-bird black duck limit, and goose seasons that shifted later in several zones. Here is how the dates and bags line up state by state.

What Changed for 2026-27

Federal frameworks kept the overall structure of recent years but bumped a few species limits. Pintails moved to three per day in the Atlantic Flyway, and scaup is a split limit almost everywhere: one bird per day for the first stretch of the season, two per day in the late period.

Black ducks remain at two per day and may only be taken during the designated black duck season, which opens later than the regular duck season in every state below. Light goose seasons start and end later than usual, and New Jersey and Pennsylvania both delayed a decision on whether a conservation order will be held this winter.

One more Pennsylvania note: Sundays remain closed to migratory game bird hunting statewide in 2026-27, even though the Game Commission now has authority to allow it. The Commission kept the closure after public input and plans to revisit it for 2027-28.

Maryland Duck Season Dates

Maryland splits duck hunting into two zones, and the Eastern Zone — the Chesapeake side — opens a week later than the Western Zone.

The daily bag in both zones is six ducks, and it may include no more than four mallards (two hens), three wood ducks, two black ducks, two canvasbacks, three pintails and two redheads. Scaup is one per day until Jan. 8, then two per day through Jan. 30. Hunters may also take 15 coots in addition to the duck limit. There is no open season for harlequin ducks.

Maryland's special September teal season ran Sept. 17-26 in the Eastern Zone counties, which is worth noting for anyone planning an early-season scouting trip. Shooting hours for duck and coot seasons run from a half hour before sunrise to sunset.

New Jersey Duck Season Dates

New Jersey runs three duck zones, and the Coastal Zone is the outlier: it opens after the inland zones close their October split and stays open well into January.

The daily duck limit is six in aggregate, with wood ducks at three, black ducks at two, pintails at three, canvasbacks and redheads at two apiece, and mallards at four with no more than two hens. Mergansers are five per day in addition to the duck limit, and coots are 15.

New Jersey added a wrinkle for goose hunters: Canada goose limits in the North and South zones rose to three birds per day for the regular season, while the Coastal Zone stays at two. The state also runs youth waterfowl days — Oct. 3 in the North Zone, Oct. 10 in the South Zone and Nov. 14 in the Coastal Zone — along with a statewide youth and veterans day on Feb. 6.

Pennsylvania Duck Season Dates

Pennsylvania's four zones open on three different dates, and the Lake Erie Zone is by far the latest. Note that all dates below are hunting days only; Sundays are closed.

Pennsylvania's duck bag is six daily and 18 in possession, with the same species restrictions used in Maryland and New Jersey: four mallards (two hens), two black ducks, three wood ducks, two redheads, two canvasbacks, three pintails and four sea ducks. Scaup splits are set zone by zone, and hunters should check the Game Commission chart before hunting because the switch to two birds falls on different dates in each zone.

Southeastern Pennsylvania also picked up more goose opportunity this year. In the Atlantic Population Zone, the regular Canada goose season grew from 30 days to 45 days and the daily limit jumped from one bird to three.

Licenses, Stamps and Registration

Every hunter in these three states needs a resident or nonresident hunting license for the current license year, a federal Duck Stamp if they are 16 or older, and HIP registration in the state where they hunt. Maryland and New Jersey both sell their licenses and stamps online and through retail agents, and Pennsylvania sells through the HuntFishPA system.

If you have not bought your stamp yet, our Duck Stamp guide for 2026-27 covers cost, e-stamps and who is exempt. The full license rundown for each state lives under Regs and Licenses.

How the Season Plays Out

The October splits are a wood duck and teal game. Hunt small water, flooded timber and beaver ponds where resident birds have been sitting all summer, and expect early shooting to be quick and close. By late October and the November reopeners, migrant puddle ducks move through and open-water spreads start producing.

The late splits are where the diving ducks show up. That is when canvasbacks, redheads, scaup and goldeneyes work the bigger water on the Chesapeake, the Delaware Bay marshes and Lake Erie, and it is also when the two-bird scaup limit kicks in. If you plan to hunt the January close, check the ice situation and be ready to move with the birds.

Whatever zone you hunt, verify the current zone map before opening day. Boundaries split counties in Maryland and shift the openers by a week or more, and that difference matters when you are picking your first hunt of the 2026-27 season. For a look at how the rest of the country opens, see our Pacific Flyway duck season dates.