North Carolina has long been known for the diversity and numbers of waterfowl which breed or spend the winter in the Tarheel state. It is just as well known for its rich waterfowling traditions as exhibited in its decoy art. Hundreds of miles of coastal marshes, coastal and inland swamps, small ponds and large lakes host a great diversity of waterfowl species.

What's New
8/6//2008 NEWStatus of Waterfowl 2008 (PDF - 2.62MB)
8/6/2008
5/12/2008
 
Managing NC's Waterfowl Resources Waterfowl Other (Webless) Migratory Game Birds

 
Managing NC's Waterfowl Resources
Waterfowl and other migratory game birds in North Carolina are managed by the Commission’s Migratory Game Bird Project, which is part of the Division of Wildlife Management’s Surveys and Research Section. Two waterfowl biologists and a waterfowl technician, working from the Edenton Wildlife Depot, are responsible for conducting survey and monitoring activities, regulatory functions and research necessary to manage waterfowl and other webless migratory game birds in North Carolina. Waterfowl include ducks, geese and tundra swans, while webless species include rails, gallinule and moorhens, snipe, woodcock, doves and crows.
Surveys and other monitoring activities are conducted throughout the year and are used to estimate annual variation in the state’s migratory game bird populations, trends in these populations over time, recruitment and productivity, survival rates, and as input to various regulatory functions. These include aerial surveys, hunter harvest surveys, recruitment and productivity surveys, censuses, nest box surveys, and banding.
Recent research activities have included tracking of tundra swan, pintail and wigeon ducks using satellite-tracked transmitters to understand more completely their migration paths, seasonal distribution, and breeding ground affiliations, determination of harvest and recovery rates of mallards and wood ducks utilizing reward banding, Atlantic brant food habitats and availability of lead shot to mourning doves under different management regimes on public dove hunting areas. Many of these research projects are cooperatively conducted with other state and government agencies through the Technical Section of the Atlantic Flyway Council.
Each year, Migratory Game Bird Project biologists provide the Wildlife Commission with their recommendations for seasons, bag limits and shooting hours for waterfowl and webless migratory game birds in North Carolina. These recommendations are formulated after careful consideration of the results of the survey, monitoring, and research activities which are conducted annually within the state, and regionally through the Atlantic Flyway Council Technical Section. All seasons, bag limits and shooting hours are established within frameworks designated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
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Waterfowl Other (Webless) Migratory Game Birds
Season Dates, Bag Limits Season Dates, Bag Limits (PDF - 24KB)
General Waterfowl Hunting Information Woodcock Status Report - 2008 (PDF - 409KB)
Waterfowl Harvest & Surveys Mourning Dove National Harvest Plan (PDF - 1.20MB)
Waterfowl Banding Dove Status Report - 2008 (PDF - 1.16MB)
Technical Articles, Reports & Research Game Lands Dove Fields
   
 
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