Maryland Duck Migration Report 2026: Counts and Timing

Q: Which ducks come through Maryland first?

In Maryland, northern pintail climb first, from around the week of Oct 26, and redhead come last, from around the week of Dec 14. That is the week each species' share of bird observations first passes the halfway mark between its July level and its fall high; the species chart shows all of them week by week.

Q: What flyway is Maryland in?

Maryland is in the Atlantic Flyway. The eastern seaboard corridor, Maine to Florida, inland to West Virginia. The freeze watch for Maryland reads forecast lows at the Atlantic Flyway's northern staging areas: Presque Isle, Lake Champlain at Burlington, Watertown.

Q: How many ducks are on the continent this fall?

The 2026 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service breeding survey estimated 33.4 ± 0.6 million birds, 6% below the long-term average of 35.4 ± 0.09 million. That is the fall flight's starting point for every state, Maryland included.

Q: When does duck season open in Maryland?

Season dates, zones and bag limits for Maryland are set by the state wildlife agency inside the federal frameworks and are listed on the Maryland waterfowl season page, linked below.

Week of Nov 23

Usual fall high in observations

2016 to 2025

Week of Nov 9

Usually climbing from

halfway up from the July level

3

Agency surveys

listed below

Atlantic

Flyway

freeze watch below

The agency counts

Where ducks are counted in Maryland

Counted through the season

Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge Weekly Waterfowl Survey

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge

Last season’s count, March 25, 2026

No mallards

1,040 scaup and 500 ruddy ducks

In the agency’s words

Survey Date 3/4/2026 3/11/2026 3/18/2026 3/25/2026 ... Mallard 18 5 4 0 ... Refuge Total 5630 7282 2982 1586

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, March 25, 2026. Read it at the source

Ducks, geese and swans around Eastern Neck Island at the mouth of the Chester River on the Chesapeake Bay, by species

How often: Weekly
Season: November to March
Highest published count: 26,703 ducks, January 2026
Counted at: Eastern Neck NWR

The agency’s survey page The report this count is from Read October 8, 2026

Counted through the season

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Ground Waterfowl Survey

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

Last season’s count, March 19, 2026

469 ducks

62 of them mallards

In the agency’s words

Winter 2026 ... 3/19/2026 ... Mallard MALL ... 62 ... total waterfowl ... 621 ... total duck ... 469

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, March 19, 2026. Read it at the source

Ducks, geese, swans and other water birds on Blackwater NWR on Maryland's Eastern Shore, by species, from the ground, plus a January aerial survey

How often: Roughly weekly
Season: November to March
Highest published count: 5,613 ducks, January 2026
Counted at: Blackwater, Barren Island, Bishops Head, Smith Island, South Marsh and Bloodsworth Island

The agency’s survey page The report this count is from Read October 8, 2026

Midwinter survey

Midwinter Waterfowl Survey

Maryland Department of Natural Resources (with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Last published midwinter survey, January 2026

379,600 ducks

63,900 of them mallards

105,800 scaup and 72,300 ruddy ducks; diving ducks (239,100) were higher than the 100,200 counted in 2025 and the 5-year average (145,860)

In the agency’s words

This year, the survey teams counted about 926,900 waterfowl which was higher than both the 705,300 birds observed in 2025 and the most recent five-year average of 684,280 birds. ... Total Ducks 179,800 289,100 215,400 233,300 379,600

Maryland Department of Natural Resources (with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), January 2026. Read it at the source

Ducks, geese and swans wintering along Maryland's Chesapeake Bay, tidal Potomac River and Atlantic coast shorelines, counted from the air once each January

How often: Once a year, during the first week of January
Season: January to January
Long term: five-year average of 684,280 birds (all waterfowl); mallards 5-year average 56,320; diving ducks 5-year average 145,860
Counted at: Chesapeake Bay, Tidal Potomac River, Atlantic coast shorelines

The agency’s survey page Read October 8, 2026

The nearest other counts on the Atlantic Flyway

Midwinter survey

Aerial Waterfowl Survey

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Fish and Wildlife · Delaware · about 70 miles from Maryland

Last published midwinter survey, January 2026

59,709 ducks

18,363 of them mallards

22,649 American black ducks, the most in any January flight in the dataset since 1978, and 24,174 snow geese against 248,322 in 2025

Total added up from the published species counts

In the agency’s words

{"year":"2026","sum_atlantic_brant":"74","sum_canada_goose":"84257","sum_snow_goose":"24174",...,"sum_american_black_duck":"22649","sum_mallard":"18363","sum_northern_pintail":"5190"

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Fish and Wildlife, January 2026. Read it at the source

Ducks, geese and swans across the eastern half of Delaware from the Pennsylvania line to the Maryland line, by species and survey zone, from the air; the January flight is the statewide Midwinter count and the fall flights cover the bayshore zones only

How often: Fall flights in October, November and December over three bayshore zones (zones 5 to 7), then one statewide January Midwinter flight over every zone
Season: October to January
Counted at: Zone 1, Pennsylvania State line south to the Delaware Memorial Bridge
Zone 2, Delaware Memorial Bridge to the C&D Canal
Zone 3, C&D Canal to Liston Point and Kenton
Zone 4, Liston Point to Route 6 Smyrna
and 7 more

The agency’s survey page The report this count is from Read October 8, 2026

Midwinter survey

Midwinter Aerial Waterfowl Survey, Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region National Wildlife Refuge System (Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge) · North Carolina · about 270 miles from Maryland

Last published midwinter survey, January 2026

217,264 dabbling ducks

45,097 diving ducks

9,474 of them mallards

286,972 total waterfowl, the second highest of 61 Southeast refuges flown, led by an estimated 82,671 American wigeon and 52,298 northern pintail

USFWS estimate, corrected for birds missed from the air

In the agency’s words

Mattamuskeet NWR 217,264 45,097 9,663 14,948 0 286,972 286,972

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region National Wildlife Refuge System (Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge), January 6, 2026. Read it at the source

A January aerial survey of ducks, geese and swans on Mattamuskeet NWR and Lake Mattamuskeet in eastern North Carolina, reported as visibility corrected estimates by species and by guild, not raw counts

How often: One January aerial survey a year (Midwinter), published as a regional report the following spring
Season: January to January
Counted at: Open water transects (unit GX), Survey unit A, Survey unit B, Survey unit D, Survey unit E

The agency’s survey page The report this count is from Read October 8, 2026

Observations this week

Maryland against a normal year

Observations this week in Maryland

Duck observations here usually reach their fall high around the week of Nov 23. Counting this week’s research grade observations.

Observations this week in the Atlantic Flyway

Duck observations here usually reach their fall high around the week of Nov 9. Counting this week’s research grade observations.

Which ducks come through Maryland, and when

Each row is one species’ share of Maryland bird observations by week from August to July, darkest at its high point, from research grade iNaturalist observations 2016 to 2025. The last column is the week each species first comes four fifths of the way from its July level to its August to December high.

SpeciesAugSepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulUsual fall high

Mallarddabblingweek of Nov 16holds into winter

Green-winged tealdabblingweek of Nov 16

Blue-winged tealdabblingno fall rise; as common in summer

Northern pintaildabblingweek of Nov 23

American wigeondabblingweek of Dec 14

Gadwalldabblingweek of Nov 16

Wood duckdabblingno fall rise; as common in summer

Canvasbackdivingweek of Dec 21holds into winter

Redheaddivingweek of Dec 14holds into winter

Lesser scaupdivingweek of Dec 14holds into winter

Greater scaupdivingweek of Nov 30holds into winter

Ring-necked duckdivingweek of Nov 16

Buffleheaddivingweek of Nov 23holds into winter

Common goldeneyedivingweek of Dec 14holds into winter

What moves the birds

Freeze watch up the Atlantic Flyway

When the shallow water at the northern staging areas locks up, dabbling ducks move south to open water. These are the National Weather Service seven day forecast lows there, with nights at or below 28°F marked.

Freeze watch on the Atlantic Flyway

Reading the seven day forecast lows at Presque Isle, Lake Champlain at Burlington, Watertown.

Two ring-necked ducks swimming in dark open water along the edge of a sheet of ice — Ring-necked ducks on the open water left at the ice edge, Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota. When the shallow pools lock up, the birds that feed in them have to move. “Ring-Necked Duck in Winter Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge South Dakota (54202161621)”, USFWS Mountain-Prairie (Liz Julian), Public domain

Maryland duck migration questions

When do ducks migrate through Maryland?

Duck observations in Maryland usually climb from the week of Nov 9 and reach their fall high around the week of Nov 23, and the share stays that high into January; they stay above the halfway mark between their July level and that high through the week of Mar 16. That is from ten years of research grade iNaturalist observations, 2016 to 2025, counted as a share of all bird observations so the growth of the app does not skew it.

Where are ducks counted in Maryland?

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge runs the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge Weekly Waterfowl Survey, last counted on March 25, 2026 (no mallards). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge runs the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Ground Waterfowl Survey, last counted on March 19, 2026 (469 ducks, 62 mallards). Maryland Department of Natural Resources (with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) runs the Midwinter Waterfowl Survey, midwinter survey, last published for January 2026 (379,600 ducks, 63,900 mallards). Each count links to the agency's own report.

Which ducks come through Maryland first?

What flyway is Maryland in?

How many ducks are on the continent this fall?

When does duck season open in Maryland?

More for the Maryland season

Duck migration on every flywayEvery agency count, the freeze watch and this week's observations, flyway by flyway.Maryland waterfowl seasonDuck season dates, zones and limits for Maryland.Maryland pheasant seasonOpening day and the agency's own outlook for Maryland.Fall bird migrationThe songbird and raptor migration, state by state.Eagle watchingWhere bald eagles gather at open water in winter.Hunting licensesWhat a license costs, and the duck stamp that goes with it.

Duck migration in other states

Agency counts read up to October 8, 2026, each from the page linked on its card, and the agency’s own report is the one that governs. Observation curves from iNaturalist research grade records 2016 to 2025; this week’s figures and the forecast lows are read when the page opens. Every state is on the duck migration report.