AUGUSTA — Favorable breeding conditions and waterfowl populations will give migratory game bird hunters full seasons again this year, according to game bird biologist Kelsey Sullivan of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

After meeting with the Waterfowl Council following an Aug. 19 public hearing at the Augusta Civic Center, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Wildlife Advisory Council set the waterfowl hunting season to a full 60 days, as allowed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The sea duck hunting season will be 107 days.

“The 60-day season for regular ducks has been in place for several years, and the same with the 107 days for sea ducks,” Sullivan said Tuesday afternoon.

The southern waterfowl zone will be open for hunting beginning Thursday, Oct. 1, as in past years, he said in a Monday report. The northern waterfowl zone will have an earlier opening day.

According to the department Web site, the north and south zones are defined as the Maine-New Brunswick border in Baileyville; Maine west along Stony Brook to Route 9 in Baileyville; west along Route 9 to Route 15 in Bangor; west along Route 15 to I-95 in Bangor; southwest along I-95 to Route 202 (Exit 109A) in Augusta; southwest along Route 202 to Route 11 in Auburn; southwest along Route 11 to Route 110 in Newfield; west along Route 110 to the Maine-New Hampshire border.

The duck season — but not the goose season — will open on Monday, Sept. 28, in the northern waterfowl zone. This will allow north-zone duck hunters a few more days of duck hunting opportunity that may otherwise be lost due to an early freeze-up of inland waters that hunters in the north zone generally experience in December, Sullivan said.

In addition to waterfowl, webless game birds, such as rails and woodcock, falconry and crow, hunting seasons were also adopted.

A copy of the schedule may be downloaded from http://www.maine.gov/ifw/laws_rules/pdf/migratorybird_2009.pdf.

Species bag limits for the coming season are similar to last year, with the following exceptions:

• Scaup will be the full 60-day season with a two-bird daily bag limit.

• Canvasback will be the full 60 days with a one-bird daily bag limit.

• Brant will be a 50-day season with a two-bird daily bag limit.

• Common eider daily bag limit will be reduced from five birds per day to four, all within the seven-bird daily sea duck bag limit.

The common eider bag limit reduction was recommended to address concerns that the eider population is not increasing, Sullivan said.

Additionally, annual survival estimates are below that which would lead to a population increase.

This recommendation was made following results of several years of eider banding and band recoveries conducted by the department and its collaborators: the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

These banding activities are in association with long-term monitoring of eider numbers and factors affecting survival, like harvest, predation and disease, Sullivan said.

To achieve the publicly-derived goal to increase nesting eider numbers in Maine, the department believes it necessary to reduce the common eider bag limit.

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