Migration Alert: Late-Season Coastal Hunters Still Finding Success in North Atlantic

The end of the season is near, but that can mean some of the best gunning of the year for those in the coastal zones of the Atlantic Flyway. The snow/ice line has done its part in pushing birds out to the salt, and hunters in the right areas are set up for a strong finish.

Massachusetts got off to a rough start this season. Wind has been a constant challenge, limiting access and making consistent hunting tough early on. “Wind really hampered the first part of the season,” Randy Drago of Codfather Charters, reports. “It’s been thin on black ducks,” he notes. “Divers showed up early, with scoters and goldeneyes present at the season’s start, but many of those birds have already headed south.”

Hunters who’ve stuck it out are finding birds, though limits haven’t been easy. “We’ve been picking away at birds,” Drago says. “Chatham has the most eiders I’ve ever seen.” Boston, however, hasn’t seen the same concentration. “Boston isn’t holding nearly as many birds,” Drago adds.

Heading south into Rhode Island, puddle duck numbers look much better, though sea duck and diving duck numbers are less than expected. Black ducks have been abundant. “It was a great year for black ducks. They’re kind of everywhere,” Jim Tappero, Hunter Safety Education Coordinator for Rhode Island Fish & Wildlife, says. “Mallards are present in good numbers, with wigeon and gadwalls showing up in the usual spots. Buffleheads are everywhere, and if you know where to look, you can definitely find goldeneyes this year,” Tappero said. 

Scaup, unfortunately, continue to be scarce in the Ocean State, though that isn’t the case everywhere. “Twenty years ago, we had rafts of three to five thousand birds. This year, I haven’t seen numbers that make it worth going after them. We still have eiders around, but it’s not like it used to be. They’re low, and they’re getting wise.” Warm weather has had ducks moving between fresh and saltwater, though a freeze could push more back to the coast. “Once we lock up the freshwater, hopefully we’ll drive some birds back to the salt,” Tappero adds.

Long Island is currently the hotspot in the Northeast. “From the western south shore around Montauk to the western Sound, Long Island is covered in birds,” Nick Petrou of Natural Outfitters, reports. “There are flocks of 10 to 30 black ducks getting up off every pothole or creek. That’s a great sign for these historic bay birds,” Petrou says. He notes that scaup numbers are also at levels not seen in more than a decade, particularly in the Great South Bay and western Sound. “As far as the eye can see across the bay, there are thousands,” he says. 

Sea duck action improves dramatically toward the east end, where common eiders have flooded Moriches, Shinnecock, Montauk, and even parts of Orient Point.

“Seeing thousands of eiders in Shinnecock the other day was amazing,” Petrou reports. “There are thousands upon thousands of common mergansers, the most I’ve seen in the last 10 years.”

Canada goose hunting on Long Island’s East End has also been strong this season, with migrators keying heavily on agricultural fields. “The last few days, and really the last couple of weeks, have been very good,” Capt. Jack Passie, former captain of the Windy, who’s been gunning those fields for the last 63 years, says. Rye fields have clearly outperformed corn late in the season. “This time of year, rye fields are much better than corn,” Passie says. The area remains in a two-bird limit zone, and most birds are migrators from Canada rather than local birds. “You’re getting migratory birds from Canada, not just residents. So far, we’ve probably killed around 125 geese.”

With the clock ticking on the 2025–2026, North Atlantic hunters still have a little time, and enough ducks and geese to keep them occupied until the season closes.