The Missouri Conservation Commission approved season dates at its April 8 meeting for the upcoming 2020 migratory game bird hunting seasons and the 2020-2021 waterfowl hunting seasons.

Andy Raedeke, waterfowl biologist, said the waterfowl hunting dates were set using the same formula as last year. Any shift in dates is based on how the days fall on the calendar.

“The North Zone will open on the first Saturday of November and this year it’s as late as it can be,” Raedeke said. “It will open Nov. 7, so that will be about the latest we’ve ever opened in the North Zone.”

The bag limits for waterfowl species will remain the same with the exemption of hunting scaup.

This year, two scaup can be harvested for the first 45 days of the season in each zone, and one scaup can be harvested for the last 15 days in each zone. The change was made in response to a decline in population. The population of the bird is currently around 28% below the long-term average.

“We shoot very few scaup in Missouri, so it really shouldn’t be a big deal for hunters one way or another,” Raedeke said. “We typically harvest less than 3,000 scaup statewide.”

The conservation department recently held public workshops for hunters to provide input about season dates and zone boundary locations for the 2021 through 2025 seasons.

The recommendations based on public input from those meetings will be presented to the regulations committee in the beginning of May. The issue is expected to be discussed at the next Missouri Conservation Commission meeting.

In addition, he said the annual fall monitoring activities of waterfowl that typically take place in North America will be cancelled this year due to concerns for the spread of the coronavirus. This likely will result in less information being collected on the waterfowl status and conditions on the breeding grounds this upcoming year.

2020 Migratory Game Bird Hunting

Mourning Doves, Eurasian Collared Doves and White-Winged Doves

Season: Sept. 1 through Nov. 29

Limits: 15 daily and 45 in possession combined total for all three species

Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset

2020-2021 Waterfowl Hunting

Teal

Season: Sept. 12 to 27

Limits: Six daily and 18 in possession

Hours: Sunrise to sunset

Ducks

Season: North Zone: Nov. 7 through Jan. 5, 2021

Middle Zone: Nov. 7 to 13 and Nov. 19 through Jan. 10, 2021

South Zone: Nov. 26 to 29 and Dec. 7 through Jan. 31, 2021

Limits: Six ducks daily with species restrictions

Possession limit: Three times the daily bag or 18 total, varies by species

Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset

Coots

Season: Same as duck season dates in the respective zones

Limits: 15 daily and 45 in possession

Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset

Snow Geese (White and Blue Phases) and Ross’s Geese

Season: Nov. 11 through Feb. 6, 2021

Limits: 20 blue, snow, or Ross’s geese daily with no possession limit

Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset

White-Fronted Geese

Season: Nov. 11 through Feb. 6, 2021

Limits: Two daily and six in possession

Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset

Canada Geese and Brant

Season: Oct. 3 to 11 and Nov. 11 to Feb. 6, 2021

Limits: Three Canada geese and Brant in aggregate daily, nine in possession

Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset

Light Goose Conservation Order

Season: Feb. 7 through April 30, 2021

Limits: No daily or possession limits

Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset

Youth Hunting Days

North Zone: Oct. 24 and 25

Limits: Same as regular waterfowl season

Hours: Same as regular waterfowl season

For more information on migratory-bird and waterfowl hunting, visit MDC online at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species and select the specific species. MDC’s 2020-2021 Migratory Bird and Waterfowl Hunting Digest will be available beginning in July where hunting permits are sold.