Duck hunters in Colorado’s Central Flyway will be entitled to take one additional pintail this year, as authorized by the Colorado Wildlife Commission last week at its meeting in Granby.
The daily bag limit in the flyway will be six ducks. Of those, no more than five can be mallards, to include no more than two hens; no more than two may be pintails; one may be a canvasback; two may be redheads; three may be wood ducks and two may be scaup. No special restrictions apply to mottled ducks within the six-duck limit, which are found only in Texas in significant numbers.
The additional pintail allotment reflects an increase in the continental population from 2.6 million in 2008 to 3.5 million in 2010. The Pacific Flyway limit of pintails was already two and remains that way.
Removal of mottled duck restrictions is a move to simplify the hunting regulations.
The first duck-hunting season will be the special early teal season, running Sept. 11-19 east of Interstate 25 and in Lake and Chaffee counties. Other regular-season dates are:
Ducks
Central Flyway, Eastern Plains, Oct. 2-18 and Nov. 6-Jan. 23, 2011
Central Flyway, Mountain/Foothills zone, Oct. 2-Nov. 29 and Dec. 18-Jan. 23
Pacific Flyway, Sept. 25-Oct. 12 and Nov. 5-Jan. 30, 2011.
Geese
General Central Flyway, Nov. 13-Feb. 2, 2011, dark geese; Oct. 30-Feb. 2, 2011, light geese.
Northern Front Range, North Park and San Luis Valley/South Park, Oct. 2-11, in addition to general Central Flyway season.
Pacific Flyway, Sept. 25-Oct. 3 and Nov. 5-Jan. 30, 2011.
Pacific Flyway, early Canada goose, Sept. 1-Sept. 9.
