Maryland · Duck · 2026–27 Edition
Maryland Duck Season 2026–27: Zone Dates & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons by zone
| Season / Segment | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Early Teal Season | Statewide (select counties only — Eastern Shore, and parts of Anne Arundel, Prince George's, and Charles Counties) | Sep 17 – Sep 26 |
| Regular Season · Segment 1 | Eastern Zone | Oct 10 – Oct 17 |
| Regular Season · Segment 2 | Eastern Zone | Nov 14 – Nov 27 |
| Regular Season · Segment 3 | Eastern Zone | Dec 15 – Jan 30 |
| Regular Season · Segment 1 | Western Zone | Oct 3 – Oct 17 |
| Regular Season · Segment 2 | Western Zone | Nov 21 – Nov 27 |
| Regular Season · Segment 3 | Western Zone | Dec 15 – Jan 30 |
| Youth, Veteran & Military Waterfowl Day | Statewide | Nov 7 – Nov 7 |
| Youth, Veteran & Military Waterfowl Day | Statewide | Feb 6 – Feb 6 |
02 — Bag limits
| Early Teal — Daily / Possession | 6 / 18 |
|---|---|
| Ducks — Daily, both zones | 6 |
| Ducks — Possession, both zones | 18 (3× the daily limit) |
| Mallards | 4 daily, no more than 2 hens, within the overall 6-duck limit |
| Wood Ducks | 3 daily, within the overall 6-duck limit |
| Black Duck | 2 daily, within the overall 6-duck limit — legal only during each zone's November and December-January segments, closed during the October segment |
| Pintail | 3 daily, within the overall 6-duck limit |
| Canvasback | 2 daily, within the overall 6-duck limit |
| Redhead | 2 daily, within the overall 6-duck limit |
| Scaup | 1 daily — 2 daily from Jan. 8 through the season's Jan. 30 close |
| Sea Ducks (scoters, long-tailed ducks, eiders) | 4 total daily, no more than 3 of any one species — counts toward the overall 6-duck limit |
| Coot — Daily / Possession | 15 / 45 |
| Mergansers | No separate sub-limit found in any source checked — appear to count within the standard 6-duck daily limit rather than getting an additional allowance the way Maine and New York give them |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (September 17, 2026) 06:20 — 19:11
Rule: Half an hour before sunrise to sunset for all duck and coot seasons (per Maryland DNR) — no evening extension. Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Maryland sun times for any other date.
04 — License, HIP & Duck Stamp
Duck hunters in Maryland need three things (in addition to any state-specific waterfowl stamp): a Maryland hunting license, HIP registration (Harvest Information Program) and a Federal Duck Stamp — required for hunters 16+ under federal law.
Maryland hunting license cost & waterfowl stamp →
Where to hunt public land in Maryland — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does duck season open in Maryland?
The 2026–27 opener is September 17, 2026. Waterfowl seasons run under federal flyway frameworks with state-set zone splits — see the zone table above.
When does duck season end in Maryland?
The latest 2026–27 closing date is February 6, 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 Maryland per day?
2026–27 bag limits: Early Teal — Daily / Possession — 6 / 18. Ducks — Daily, both zones — 6. Ducks — Possession, both zones — 18 (3× the daily limit). Mallards — 4 daily, no more than 2 hens, within the overall 6-duck limit. Wood Ducks — 3 daily, within the overall 6-duck limit. Black Duck — 2 daily, within the overall 6-duck limit — legal only during each zone's November and December-January segments, closed during the October segment. Pintail — 3 daily, within the overall 6-duck limit. Canvasback — 2 daily, within the overall 6-duck limit. Redhead — 2 daily, within the overall 6-duck limit. Scaup — 1 daily — 2 daily from Jan. 8 through the season's Jan. 30 close. Sea Ducks (scoters, long-tailed ducks, eiders) — 4 total daily, no more than 3 of any one species — counts toward the overall 6-duck limit. Coot — Daily / Possession — 15 / 45. Mergansers — No separate sub-limit found in any source checked — appear to count within the standard 6-duck daily limit rather than getting an additional allowance the way Maine and New York give them. 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 Maryland?
On opening day (September 17, 2026) legal light runs 06:20 to 19:11. The rule is: Half an hour before sunrise to sunset for all duck and coot seasons (per Maryland DNR) — no evening extension. Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local Maryland sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt ducks on my own land in Maryland without a license?
A Maryland resident landowner — plus their spouse, child, and child's spouse — doesn't need a license on land they hold title to; the same goes for a tenant and their family. Deer and turkey still need a free DNRid and Big Game Harvest Record, and nonresident owners generally don't qualify.
Verified · Maryland Department of Natural Resources · Last verified 2026-08-16
Publisher's note. dnr.maryland.gov returned a 403 server block to every fetch method used for this project as of 2026-08-13 (same block that affected Maryland's license page a day earlier); re-verified 2026-08-16 via the Browser pane, which gets through where curl/WebFetch still cannot. The DNR waterfowl page itself links out to eRegulations for the actual season table rather than hosting it, confirming that source was the right call. Season dates and bag limits come from eRegulations' Maryland migratory-game-bird page, cross-checked against an independent Maryland listing on blindbook.com and against Assateague Island National Seashore's (NPS, a federal source) published Maryland duck season table — all three agree on the exact dates and limits below. Maryland's duck season runs in three segments per zone (October / November / December-January), not the two-segment pattern some secondary sites still show for an older season. Black Duck has its own narrower open window nested inside the general duck season — it's legal during the November and December-January segments but closed during each zone's October segment. Youth, Veteran, and Military Waterfowl Hunting Days (open to hunters 16 and under, veterans of any age, and active-duty military) run statewide on top of the regular season. The scaup 1-to-2-bird switchover date (previously unresolved between Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 across sources) is confirmed as Jan. 8 directly on eRegulations. No separate merganser bag limit exists anywhere on the page — confirmed again by a full-text search, not just a scan — so mergansers count within the standard 6-duck limit, unlike Maine or New York. Goose and other migratory game bird seasons are set in the same regulation but are out of scope for this file.