Georgia · Duck · 2026–27 Edition
Georgia Duck Season 2026–27: Dates & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons by zone
| Season / Segment | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Teal | Statewide | Sep 12 – Sep 20 |
| Falconry | Statewide | Sep 5 – Sep 27 |
| Falconry | Statewide | Oct 10 – Oct 25 |
| Falconry | Statewide | Nov 14 – Nov 15 |
| Youth, Active Military & Veterans Waterfowl Day | Statewide | Nov 15 – Nov 16 |
| Duck, Coot & Merganser · Segment 1 | Statewide | Nov 21 – Nov 29 |
| Falconry | Statewide | Nov 21 – Dec 6 |
| Duck, Coot & Merganser · Segment 2 | Statewide | Dec 12 – Jan 31 |
| Falconry | Statewide | Dec 12 – Jan 31 |
02 — Bag limits
| Duck — Daily | 6, including no more than 4 sea ducks. Species sub-limits: 1 black or mottled duck, 2 canvasback, 1 fulvous whistling duck, 2 mallard (only 1 may be a hen), 1 pintail, 2 redhead, 1 scaup, 3 wood duck |
|---|---|
| Sea Ducks — Daily (within the 4-sea-duck sub-limit) | 3 eider (only 1 may be a hen), 3 long-tailed duck, 3 scoter |
| Duck — Possession | Three times the daily bag limit |
| Teal — Daily | 6 |
| Falconry — Daily / Possession | 3 / 9, for all permitted migratory game birds singly or in the aggregate |
| Youth, Active Military & Veterans Waterfowl Day | Same species limits as the regular season. Youth must be 16 or younger, accompanied by an adult 18+ who may not hunt |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (September 5, 2026) 06:40 — 19:51
Rule: Half an hour before sunrise to sunset (per Georgia DNR's Summary of Federal Regulations for Migratory Game Birds). Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Georgia sun times for any other date.
04 — License, HIP & Duck Stamp
Duck hunters in Georgia need three things (in addition to any state-specific waterfowl stamp): a Georgia hunting license, HIP registration (Harvest Information Program) and a Federal Duck Stamp — required for hunters 16+ under federal law.
Georgia hunting license cost & waterfowl stamp →
Where to hunt public land in Georgia — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does duck season open in Georgia?
The 2026–27 opener is September 5, 2026. Waterfowl seasons run under federal flyway frameworks with state-set zone splits — see the zone table above.
When does duck season end in Georgia?
The latest 2026–27 closing date is January 31, 2027. Late-zone and second-segment closes vary — see the zone table.
Do I need a Federal Duck Stamp?
Yes. Every waterfowl hunter 16 or older must carry a signed current-year Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (Duck Stamp). It is available at U.S. Post Offices, many license retailers, most National Wildlife Refuges, and online from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
How many ducks can you shoot in Georgia per day?
2026–27 bag limits: Duck — Daily — 6, including no more than 4 sea ducks. Species sub-limits: 1 black or mottled duck, 2 canvasback, 1 fulvous whistling duck, 2 mallard (only 1 may be a hen), 1 pintail, 2 redhead, 1 scaup, 3 wood duck. Sea Ducks — Daily (within the 4-sea-duck sub-limit) — 3 eider (only 1 may be a hen), 3 long-tailed duck, 3 scoter. Duck — Possession — Three times the daily bag limit. Teal — Daily — 6. Falconry — Daily / Possession — 3 / 9, for all permitted migratory game birds singly or in the aggregate. Youth, Active Military & Veterans Waterfowl Day — Same species limits as the regular season. Youth must be 16 or younger, accompanied by an adult 18+ who may not hunt. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting ducks in Georgia?
On opening day (September 5, 2026) legal light runs 06:40 to 19:51. The rule is: Half an hour before sunrise to sunset (per Georgia DNR's Summary of Federal Regulations for Migratory Game Birds). Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local Georgia sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt ducks on my own land in Georgia without a license?
Georgia residents 16 and older don't need a license on land they or their immediate family own — tenants aren't covered. Deer and turkey still need a free Harvest Record, and waterfowl needs a free state license plus the federal Duck Stamp.
Verified · Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division · Last verified 2026-08-16
Publisher's note. Statewide dates originally read from Georgia WRD's own '2026-2027 Season Dates' migratory-bird flyer (image-only flipbook, then still readable by rendering the page image directly). As of 2026-08-16 that same flipbook — still the one georgiawildlife.com/migratory-bird-info itself links to — returns 'This document is password protected / Product Unavailable' even through the official link chain, a harder failure than the earlier automation block. In its absence, the regular-season dates were cross-checked via calendar math (Nov. 21, 2026 falls on a Saturday, and WRD's own stated rule is that the first split always runs Saturday-before-Thanksgiving through Sunday-after-Thanksgiving — Nov. 21-29 is exactly that window for 2026) and confirmed exact. CORRECTION 2026-08-16 (same day, later check): the Youth/Military/Veterans Waterfowl Day had been added earlier this session at Nov. 14-15, copied from a 2020-21 press release on the unverified assumption it coincides with the existing Falconry window of the same dates — that assumption was wrong. Georgia Outdoor News's dated (Aug. 4, 2026) '2026-2027 GA Hunting Seasons Quick Guide' gives the actual current-season date as 'Youth/Military Waterfowl Nov. 15-16' — now corrected to that. The Falconry Nov. 14-15 window itself was NOT touched, since it predates this session's calendar-fallback work and GON doesn't cover falconry dates to cross-check it against. Do not trust generic web search summaries for this state without checking the date explicitly and its publication date — several found during this check (eRegulations, last updated Oct. 2025; some AI search summaries) were still describing the prior 2025-26 season; GON's article is explicitly dated for the current season and proved reliable. Re-check against the flipbook directly once it's back online. Georgia does not split duck season by zones, unlike many neighboring states. Shooting hours confirmed separately against WRD's 'Summary of Federal Regulations for Migratory Game Birds' page, which states the ½-hour-before-sunrise-to-sunset rule in exactly those words for all migratory species.