Shotgun deer, duck, Canada goose, and cottontail rabbit among numerous hunting seasons opening statewide

DOVER – Numerous Delaware hunting seasons open in November, including the shotgun deer season from Friday, Nov. 15 through Sunday, Nov. 24, Sundays included, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife announced today. Other popular hunting seasons opening in November include the second season split for ducks and the first season split for Canada goose, with many other hunting seasons also opening. Complete information is available online by visiting the 2019-2020 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide.

The November shotgun deer season is the most popular deer season. During Delaware’s five-month deer season, nearly 50 percent of the overall annual deer harvest typically occurs during the 10 days of the November shotgun season. Harvest of does by hunters is encouraged to help manage and better balance the state’s deer population.

Successful hunters who wish to donate venison to help feed those in need are encouraged to participate in Delaware’s Sportsmen Against Hunger Program. All donated deer will be processed free of charge to the hunter, and the meat will be distributed to participating charitable groups.

Hunting seasons opening in November:
• Red fox (hunt only): Nov. 1 – Feb. 29, 2020
• Raccoon and opossum (hunt only): Nov. 1 – Feb. 29, 2020*
• Youth/Non-ambulatory disabled hunt for deer: Nov. 2 and 3
• Shotgun deer: Nov. 15-24, including Sundays
• Sea ducks in special sea duck area: Nov. 23 – Jan. 31, 2020 (See page 30 of the guide for more information about the special sea duck area.)
• Ducks, coots, and mergansers second season split: Nov. 25 – 30
• Woodcock first season split: Nov. 25 – 30
• Bobwhite quail: Nov. 25 – Jan. 4, 2020
• Mourning dove second season split: Nov. 25 – Jan. 31, 2020
• Ring-necked pheasant (male only): Nov. 25 – Feb. 1, 2020
• Cottontail rabbit: Nov. 25 – Feb. 29, 2020
• Canada goose first season split: Nov. 28 – 30

* Raccoon and opossum hunting season is closed during the November youth/non-ambulatory disabled hunt and November shotgun deer seasons, with the exception of the special zone where raccoon season is open all year, as described on page 36 of the guide. Special raccoon and opossum hunting hours during the December antlerless, and January handgun, shotgun, and muzzleloader seasons are 7 p.m. until midnight.

Continuing hunting seasons include:
• Moorhen, gallinule, sora, Virginia rail, king rail, and clapper rail: through Nov. 21
• Common snipe: through Nov. 30
• Snow goose: through Jan. 31, 2020, and Feb. 8, 2020
• Tundra swan: through Jan. 31, 2020, by permit only, issued via pre-season lottery
• Gray squirrel: through Feb. 1, 2020 (closed during November shotgun deer season)
• Archery and crossbow deer: through Feb. 2, 2020, including all Sundays
• Coyote (hunt only): through Feb. 29, 2020
• Crow: through Mar. 31, 2020 (Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays only)
• Groundhog: through June 30, 2020

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife offers many hunting opportunities on state wildlife areas. Wildlife area maps and rules are available at Wildlife Area Hunting Maps.

A Delaware hunting license or License Exempt Number (LEN) is required to hunt, and most waterfowl hunters require a Delaware waterfowl (duck) stamp. More information on hunting license and Delaware waterfowl stamp requirements is available at Delaware Licenses. Waterfowl and other migratory game bird (except crow) hunters will need a Federal Harvest Information Program (HIP) number. To register for a LEN or HIP number, hunters can go to Delaware Hunter and Trapper Registration or call toll free 1-855-335-4868. For hunters age 16 and older, a federal migratory bird stamp is also required to hunt waterfowl.

To purchase a hunting license, either in person or online, hunters born after Jan. 1, 1967, must have a basic hunter education safety course card/number. Hunters who took a Delaware hunter safety course starting in 2008 can print their hunter safety card by going to http://de.gov/huntersafety. Hunters who took their Delaware hunter safety course before 2008 should call the Hunter Education Office at 302-735-3600, ext. 1 to obtain a hunter safety card.

Registered motor vehicles used to access designated wildlife areas owned or managed by the Division of Fish & Wildlife are required to display a Conservation Access Pass (CAP). Hunters can opt to receive one free annual CAP with the purchase of any Delaware hunting license. To obtain a CAP, hunters will need the registration card for the vehicle to which the pass will be assigned.

Delaware hunting licenses, Delaware waterfowl stamps, and Conservation Access Passes can be purchased online at Delaware Licenses, at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and from hunting license agents statewide. Federal migratory bird stamps are available at U.S. Post Offices, Bombay Hook and Prime Hook national wildlife refuges, and online at Federal duck stamps.

For more information on hunting, click 22019-2020 Delaware Hunting & Trapping Guide and Wildlife Area Hunting Maps. Hard copies of the guide and newly-updated hunting maps are also available at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office. More information on hunting licenses, season details, and the Conservation Access Pass is also available by calling the DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Wildlife Section office at 302-739-9912.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

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NEW CASTLE – DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife announced that a new 5-Stand shotgun sporting clays course is opening at the Ommelanden Hunter Education Training Center today, Oct. 30. The new 5-Stand sporting course provides shooters with the opportunity to enhance their skills using a variety of clay targets, including rabbit, chandelle, overhead, skeet high and low shots, and an incoming bird.

Restoring the popular 5-Stand sporting clays course is part of the Division’s ongoing plan for enhancing and upgrading the facility to provide value to hunters and target shooting enthusiasts with a first class training and shooting facility.

The Ommelanden Range also offers trap and skeet ranges, archery ranges, and enclosed 25-meter pistol and 50-meter rifle ranges. For more information, visit the Ommelanden webpage, or call the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Wildlife Section at 302-739-9912.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

Reminder for the week: Hunters should pay attention to property lines, hunting rules

DOVER – To achieve public compliance with laws and regulations through education and enforcement actions that help conserve Delaware’s fish and wildlife resources and ensure safe boating and public safety, DNREC’s Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers between Oct. 14-20 made 2,040 contacts with hunters, anglers, boaters, and the general public, issuing 45 citations. Officers responded to 44 complaints regarding possible violations of laws and regulations or requests to assist the public. An increased Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police presence continued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area and Michael N. Castle Trail.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police in the Community
• On Oct.17, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers discussed the role of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers and reviewed safe hunting, hunting laws, and what to expect when checked by an officer in the field with attendees at a Hunter Education Class held at the Little Creek Hunter Education Training Center.

• On Oct.19, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers discussed the role of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers, answered hunting, fishing and boating questions, and assisted attendees with fishing at a Boy Scout Family Fishing Day at the Akridge Scout Reservation near Dover.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police Actions

Citations issued by category, with the number of charges in parentheses, included:

Wildlife Conservation: Kill antlered deer without purchasing a hunter’s choice tag (1) and possess/transport unlawfully taken game – antlered deer (1).

Fisheries Conservation: Recreational: Possession of undersized striped bass (12), possession of undersize white perch (9), possession of undersized flounder (1), possession of over-the-limit striped bass (1), illegal method of take – using a net for striped bass (7), net marking violation (1), trespass to fish (2), unlicensed fishing (1), and no Fisherman Information Network (FIN) number (1).

Boating & Boating Safety: Failure to observe slow no wake (1) and inattentive operation of a motor vessel (1).

Public Safety: Failure to display required hunter orange during a firearms deer season (1).

Other: Operating a motor vehicle off an established roadway on a state wildlife area (1), trespassing after hours on a state wildlife area (1), driving with a suspended or revoked driver’s license (1), fictitious motor vehicle tags (1), and operating an unregistered motor vehicle (1).

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife recognizes and thanks the majority of anglers, hunters, and boaters who comply with and support Delaware’s fishing, hunting, and boating laws and regulations. The Public are encouraged to report fish, wildlife, and boating violations to the Delaware Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police by calling 302-739-4580 or through the DENRP Tip app on a smartphone, which can be downloaded free of charge by searching “DENRP Tip” via the Google Play Store or the iTunes App Store. Wildlife violations may also be reported anonymously to Operation Game Theft by calling 800-292-3030, going online to http://de.gov/ogt, or using the DENRP Tip app. Verizon customers can connect to Operation Game Theft directly by dialing #OGT.

Are you AWARE?
Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police remind hunters that hunting game on private property without permission of the owner and/or residents is considered trespassing to hunt. Tracking or recovering game on another’s property, shooting on another’s property, or crossing another’s private property to reach a hunting area without permission are examples of trespassing to hunt.

Other rules and general hunting information:
• If hunting on public wildlife areas, hunters should review wildlife area maps and rules, including hunting times, specific rules for each wildlife area, and any permits they may need. Wildlife area maps and rules are available at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk or online at Delaware Wildlife Area Maps.
• For more information on hunting in Delaware, including a summary of hunting rules and regulations, click on 2019-2020 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide. The guide also is available in printed form at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk and from license agents throughout the state.

Media contact: Sgt. Brooke Mitchell, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9913, or 302-382-7167.

Follow Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DEFWNRPolice/.

Follow Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Twitter, https://twitter.com/DE_FW_NRPolice.

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Updates on other beachnesting birds

LEWES – The data is in, and DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife is reporting another successful nesting season for piping plovers in Delaware. For the second year in a row, Delaware established its all-time high number of recorded nesting piping plover pairs, with 19 pairs producing 52 fledglings.

Last year, Delaware had 16 pairs producing 36 fledglings. In 2019, four pairs of piping plovers nested at the Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, with 15 pairs nesting at Fowler Beach at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, a relatively new nesting site used by nesting piping plovers starting in 2016 following a habitat restoration project.

For the third year in a row, piping plovers did not nest at Gordons Pond within Cape Henlopen State Park, possibly due to the combined factors of encroaching vegetation limiting sandy nesting habitat, and the availability of more attractive nesting habitat at Fowler Beach.

The piping plover is a federally-listed threatened species and a Delaware state-listed endangered species. Recovery of the species involves partnerships between DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife and Division of Parks and Recreation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Wildlife Services.

In other beachnesting bird updates, two pairs of American oystercatchers nested at the Point at Cape Henlopen State Park and one pair nested at Delaware Seashore State Park, but none successfully hatched chicks. Approximately 23 pairs of least terns were found nesting at Cape Henlopen State Park this year, hatching two chicks, one of which fledged.

For additional information on piping plovers or other beachnesting birds, please call Henrietta Bellman with the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Species Conservation and Research Program at 302-735-3600.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

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BEAR – DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation announced today the closure of Howell School Road for paving, between Robert Peoples Boulevard and Red Lion Road, Bear, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, Oct. 21 through Nov. 8.

For the convenience of Lums Pond State Park visitors who use the dog park lot on Buck Jersey Road at the East end of Howell School Road, there will be a temporary parking area set up at the primitive campground access road off of Red Lion Road (Route 71). The dog park lot will also remain open but may be difficult to access during construction.

The public will have access to the main entrance to Lums Pond State Park from Route 896 and Howell School Road during construction. For more information about Lums Pond State Park visit destateparks.com/lums or call 302-368-6989.

Media Contact: Greg Abbott, DNREC Division of Parks & Recreation, 302-739-9220