Syracuse.com - Duck hunting season in the Western Zone opened this weekend

[HuntingNY-News]

The fall’s warm weather and relative lack of rain will result in reduced numbers of birds to hunt during the early part of the season.

Friday was uncomfortable for many of the waterfowl on Tschache Pool at the Montezuma National Wildlife Center.

A peregrine falcon, several red-tailed hawks and a couple of bald eagles were hovered above in the warm, sunny skies, trying to grab an easy lunch from the thousands of ducks and geese on the water.

Saturday, the stress level for the waterfowl in the 1,100-acre, marsh went up considerably. It was opening day of the duck hunting season in the Western Zone.

Tschache Pond is the only area in the refuge where waterfowl hunters are allowed. Reservations are required and hunting is allowed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only.

“We allow 20 groups each day. A group is two people. We’re full for opening day,” said Scott Stipetich, a fish and wildlife biologist at the refuge.

The Western Zone is west of a continuous line extending from Lake Ontario east along the northern shore of the Salmon River to Route 81, and then south to the New York-Pennsylvania border.

East of Route 81, Central New York is broken up into the Northeastern and Southeastern Zones. The duck hunting seasons in those areas began Oct. 6 and Oct. 13, respectively.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials each year set up the framework and bag limits for the duck hunting season. The state Waterfowl Task Force, a group consisting of state Department of Environmental Conservation staff, along with representatives from the private hunting sector, then refines that framework for each zone in the state, setting the seasons.

The main idea is to get hunters out during the peak migrations through each area.

Sarah Fleming, a regional biologist for Ducks Unlimited, said data collected from breeding populations up north indicates that large numbers of birds will once again be migrating through this area. The daily bag limit for ducks remains at six birds.

“There’s species limitations, though,” she said. For example, hunters can only take four mallards (two must be hens), three wood ducks and one black duck a day

The one change this year, she said, is that four scaups can be taken. Last year the limit was two.

Fleming said the fall’s warm weather and relative lack of rain will result in reduced numbers of birds to hunt during the early part of the season.

“Right now, we have mostly resident ducks in our area,” she said. “We haven’t had the cold temperatures up north to push a big wave of ducks down here.”

Secondly, the drought- like conditions have dried up or lowered many local waterways.

“Hunters will have to do a lot of scouting,” she said. Some may find their favorite hunting spots gone, or may have to wade into areas where previously they could get into with a canoe or small boat.

Fleming said this coming week’s expected arrival in the northeast of Hurricane Sandy, coupled with an anticipated cold front, might be the ticket to get the Canadian birds moving.

“Afterward, you might see some more birds in this area,” she said.

Know the law:

A small game hunting license is required to hunt duck. Other requirements include possession of a duck stamp (which can be bought for $15 at a post office) and registration with the state’s Harvest Information Program (HIP). For more, including the map showing the duck-hunting zones, see the DEC website, and type in “hunting.”

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

[Live2Hunt]

Daily limit question.

According to the way its written its says "no more than 4 mallards (no more than two of which may be hens). "

My interpretation is : I can take four male mallards.

In that four mallard limit , you can only take 2-hens.