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North Dakota · 2026-27 waterfowl

North Dakota Duck & Goose Season 2026-27

Ducks: September 26, 2026 to January 3, 2027, across 2 zones. Every date below was read from North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s own published page, linked beside it, inside the Central Flyway framework.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 2, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.
September 26, 2026 to January 3, 2027
Duck season
published
2 zones
Zones
with split segments
Central
Flyway
federal framework
North Dakota Game and Fish Department
Source
read 2026-09-01
The main event

Duck season in North Dakota, zone by zone

Ducks, 2026-27

publishedCentral Flyway

Duck season is OPEN now in the Low Plains Unit, through December 6, 2026, with 2 zone segments open.

North Dakota duck seasons 2026-27, as published by North Dakota Game and Fish Department
ZoneSeason segments
Low Plains UnitSeptember 26, 2026 to December 6, 2026
High Plains UnitSeptember 26, 2026 to December 6, 2026December 12, 2026 to January 3, 2027

Dates read from Season Dates, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-01.

Openers are for residents; nonresidents may begin Oct 5, 2026 in both units. A bonus blue winged teal window runs Sep 26 to Oct 4, 2026 inside the regular season. Youth and veteran days also exist.

Waterfowl hunter setting goose decoys on a tidal flat with a retriever watching
Setting decoys with help. Photo: Rebecca Fabbri/USFWS. “Waterfowl hunter and dog” — Rebecca Fabbri / USFWS Alaska Region — Public domain
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Geese

Goose seasons in North Dakota

Geese, 2026-27

published
Goose seasonDates
White-fronted geeseSeptember 26, 2026 to December 6, 2026
Light geeseSeptember 26, 2026 to January 3, 2027

Dates read from Season Dates, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-01.

Canada goose seasons also open Sep 26, 2026 with closing dates that vary by zone (Dec 19, 2026 to Jan 1, 2027); the agency's season table carries the zone detail. An August early Canada goose season precedes these dates.

Canada geese dropping into a refuge wetland with wings set
Canada geese dropping into a refuge marsh. Photo: Jennifer Jewett/USFWS. “Canada Geese” by Jennifer Jewett / USFWS Mountain-Prairie, CC BY 2.0
The structure over the state

How North Dakota’s dates get set: the Central Flyway

Waterfowl seasons are the most federal of all hunting seasons. Migratory birds cross every border, so the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publishes annual frameworks for each of the four administrative flyways, setting the earliest openers, latest closers and maximum season lengths, and each state then selects its own dates and zones inside its framework.

North Dakota selects its dates inside the Central Flyway framework. The Great Plains corridor from the Dakotas and Montana down through Texas.

Large mixed flock of ducks and geese over water at sunset
A mixed flock of ducks and geese at sunset. Photo: Steve Hillebrand/USFWS. “A mixed flock of ducks and geese fly from a wetland area” — Steve Hillebrand, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Public domain
Rules

North Dakota waterfowl hunting regulations

Season windows are carried here with their source and read date attached. Everything else a hunter is bound by, including the federal duck stamp and HIP registration every waterfowl hunter needs, is set by North Dakota Game and Fish Departmentand USFWS, and the regulations page is linked below.

Current North Dakota regulations

Bag limits and species restrictions, shooting hours, duck stamp and HIP requirements, license rules, and youth or veteran season details for North Dakota are set by North Dakota Game and Fish Department, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

North Dakota Game and Fish Department: current regulations
Father and daughter in waders with a retriever in a duckweed marsh
Father and daughter on Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Photo: Tim Miller/USFWS. “Waterfowl Hunting (Upper Mississippi River NWFR)” — Tim Miller / USFWS Midwest Region — Public domain

Duck season dates in other states

North Dakota turkey seasonThe other 2026-27 season calendar: spring and fall turkey dates by zone.North Dakota first freezeThe freeze line pushes birds south. When the first hard frost normally lands.North Dakota deer rutThe November you are already out for. When deer actually breed.

North Dakota waterfowl season questions

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Wetland at sunset with a fallen snag and mountains on the horizon
Wood River Wetland, Oregon. The habitat the flyways run on. Photo: Greg Shine/BLM. “Wood River Wetland” — Greg Shine / Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington — Public domain

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 2, 2026. Every season window is republished from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department page linked beside it, read on the date shown; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Bag limits, legal methods, shooting hours, stamp and license rules are set by North Dakota Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whose pages are the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national waterfowl season guide.