Second season split for ducks, opener for Canada geese also this month

DOVER – Delaware’s November shotgun deer season – which runs from Friday, Nov. 10 through Sunday, Nov. 19, including Sunday, Nov. 12 – is considered the busiest and most popular of all the deer seasons.

“It’s remarkable that during Delaware’s five-month deer season, nearly 50 percent of the overall annual deer harvest will occur during these 10 days in mid-November,” said Emily Boyd, deer and furbearer biologist with the Division of Fish & Wildlife. “This year we anticipate Delaware hunters will harvest about 14,000 deer, with nearly 6,400 of them taken during the November shotgun deer season.”

Successful hunters who wish to donate venison are encouraged to participate in Delaware’s Sportsmen Against Hunger Program. All donated deer will be processed free of charge to the hunter, and the meat will be distributed to participating charitable groups.

In addition to the shotgun deer season, November provides many other hunting opportunities including the second season split for duck season and the opener for Canada geese.

Hunting seasons opening in November:

Red fox (hunt): Nov. 1-Feb. 28, 2018

Raccoon and opossum (hunt): Nov. 1-9 and Nov. 18-Feb. 28, 2018

Youth/Non-ambulatory disabled hunt for deer: Nov. 4

Shotgun deer: Nov. 10-19, including Sundays, Nov. 12 and 19

Canada geese and brant – first season split: Nov. 20-25

Ducks, coots and mergansers – second season split: Nov. 20-25

Woodcock – first season split: Nov. 20-Dec. 2

Bobwhite quail: Nov. 20-Jan. 6, 2018

Mourning dove – third season split: Nov. 20-Jan. 13, 2018

Sea ducks: Nov. 20-Jan. 27, 2018

Ring-necked pheasant (male only): Nov. 20-Feb. 3, 2018

Cottontail rabbit: Nov. 20-Feb. 28, 2018

Delaware hunting licenses, state waterfowl stamps, and conservation access passes can be purchased online at Delaware Licenses, at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, or from hunting license dealers statewide. For hunters age 16 and older, a federal migratory bird hunting stamp also is required to hunt ducks and geese; federal stamps are available at U.S. Post Offices and online at Federal duck stamps.

To purchase your hunting license, either in person or online, hunters must have a copy of their hunter safety card as proof of taking a basic hunter education safety course. Hunters who took a Delaware hunter safety course after 2008 can print their hunter safety card by going to de.gov/huntersafety. Hunters who took their hunter safety course before 2008 should call the Hunter Education Office at 302-735-3600, ext. 1 to obtain a hunter safety card.

New this year, registered motor vehicles used to access designated public lands owned or managed by the Division of Fish & Wildlife are required to display a Conservation Access Pass (CAP). Hunters can opt to receive one free annual vehicle pass with the purchase of any Delaware hunting license. To obtain a free CAP, or to purchase an additional pass, hunters will need to have the registration card for the vehicle to which the pass will be assigned.

For more information on hunting, click 2017-2018 Delaware Hunting & Trapping Guide and Wildlife Area Hunting Maps. Hard copies of guide and newly-updated hunting maps are also available at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office. More information on hunting licenses, season details and conservation access passes is available by calling the Wildlife Section office at 302-739-9912. For more information on Sunday deer hunting in Delaware, please visit the Division of Fish & Wildlife website.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 47, No. 235

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