Skip to content
Washington · 2026-27 waterfowl

Washington Duck & Goose Season 2026-27

Ducks: October 17, 2026 to January 31, 2027. Every date below was read from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s own published page, linked beside it, inside the Pacific 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.
October 17, 2026 to January 31, 2027
Duck season
published
Statewide
Zones
with split segments
Pacific
Flyway
federal framework
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Source
read 2026-09-02
The main event

Duck season in Washington, zone by zone

Ducks, 2026-27

publishedPacific Flyway

Duck season opens in 2 days, on October 17, 2026.

Washington duck seasons 2026-27, as published by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
ZoneSeason segments
StatewideOctober 17, 2026 to October 25, 2026October 28, 2026 to January 31, 2027

Dates read from 2026-27 Washington Game Bird Regulations (official digest), Migratory Game Bird Seasons, accessed 2026-09-02.

Scaup season is closed Oct 17 to Nov 6, 2026 inside the statewide window. Youth days are Sep 26, 2026 (western WA) and Oct 3, 2026 (eastern WA); the statewide youth, veterans and active military day is Feb 6, 2027.

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
Advertisement
Geese

Goose seasons in Washington

Geese, 2026-27

on the agency page

Washington goose seasons 2026-27: read them on the agency's own page

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes the current dates on its own page, linked below (Washington sets goose seasons by goose management area with windows that differ per area and species; the digest's summary page did not carry the full table, so the dates are not republished here. The agency's game bird pamphlet has the area by area detail.).

Read the dates at Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
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 Washington’s dates get set: the Pacific 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.

Washington selects its dates inside the Pacific Flyway framework. The western corridor from Alaska down the coast states and Great Basin.

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

Washington 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 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlifeand USFWS, and the regulations page is linked below.

Current Washington regulations

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

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: 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

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

Washington waterfowl season questions

Advertisement
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 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 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 Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 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.