Wisconsin’s Southern zone duck season opens Sept. 28
MADISON – Hunters looking forward to the opening of Wisconsin’s 2013 duck season in the Southern zone on Sept. 28 should find good numbers of ducks, according to Department of Natural Resources officials.
“Although a few areas have been seeing lowering water levels, Wisconsin waterfowl hunters should have a good season,” said Kent Van Horn, DNR migratory game bird ecologist. “Continental breeding surveys that have been ongoing for 58 years reported near record numbers of ducks this spring. However, even with excellent continental breeding indications, local water levels and scouting will be the most important factors when pursuing ducks this fall.”
As hunters prepare for the season opener there are some important regulation details and changes that should be noted, said Van Horn.
The daily bag limit is six ducks in total, not to include more than four mallards of which only one may be a hen, three wood ducks, one black duck, two redheads, three scaup, two pintail, and two canvasback.
Two important changes to the daily bag limits, which were made in response to annual population estimates, are a decrease in the daily bag limit for scaup from four to three and an increase in the daily bag limit for canvasback from one to two. The possession limit has also been increased from two times the daily bag limit to three times the daily bag limit across the country.
Additional information on waterfowl and waterfowl hunting is available by searching the DNR website dnr.wi.gov for keyword “waterfowl.”
More information about waterfowl hunting in the northern and Mississippi zones along with license, stamp and other requirements is available on the DNR website, along with additional information on “waterfowl hunting.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Kent Van Horn, DNR migratory game bird ecologist: 608-266-8841
