Most commonly hunted migratory birds in North Carolina

Written by:
November 18, 2022
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Most commonly hunted migratory birds in North Carolina

Stacker compiled a list of the most commonly hunted migratory birds in North Carolina using data from the Fish & Wildlife Service. Duck and goose species are ranked by the estimated 2021 hunting harvest in North Carolina.

In 2021 North Carolina had the largest estimated harvest of all states for 1 migratory bird species: Hooded Merganser.

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#18. Ruddy Duck (tie)

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 812 (6.6% of national harvest)
- National: 12,252
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. California: 3,622 (29.6% of national harvest)
--- #2. Texas: 1,061 (8.7%)
--- #3. Utah: 950 (7.8%)
--- #4. Michigan: 869 (7.1%)
--- #5. Maryland: 827 (6.7%)
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#18. Greater Scaup

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 812 (2.6% of national harvest)
- National: 31,258
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Oregon: 6,211 (19.9% of national harvest)
--- #2. Ohio: 3,820 (12.2%)
--- #3. Maryland: 2,755 (8.8%)
--- #4. Wisconsin: 2,370 (7.6%)
--- #5. Michigan: 1,912 (6.1%)
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#17. Redhead

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 2,435 (3.4% of national harvest)
- National: 72,176
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Texas: 14,189 (19.7% of national harvest)
--- #2. North Dakota: 5,013 (6.9%)
--- #3. Michigan: 4,866 (6.7%)
--- #4. Florida: 4,610 (6.4%)
--- #5. Wisconsin: 4,443 (6.2%)
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#16. Brant

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 2,468 (14.7% of national harvest)
- National: 16,755
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Alaska: 4,872 (29.1% of national harvest)
--- #2. New York: 3,574 (21.3%)
--- #3. North Carolina: 2,468 (14.7%)
--- #4. New Jersey: 2,153 (12.8%)
--- #5. California: 1,155 (6.9%)
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#15. Scoters

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 3,043 (6.6% of national harvest)
- National: 46,408
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Maryland: 13,863 (29.9% of national harvest)
--- #2. Virginia: 12,026 (25.9%)
--- #3. New Jersey: 4,141 (8.9%)
--- #4. Alaska: 3,371 (7.3%)
--- #5. Massachusetts: 3,062 (6.6%)
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#14. Lesser Scaup

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 4,261 (3.2% of national harvest)
- National: 132,322
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Louisiana: 17,899 (13.5% of national harvest)
--- #2. California: 15,072 (11.4%)
--- #3. Texas: 14,719 (11.1%)
--- #4. Michigan: 9,559 (7.2%)
--- #5. Washington: 7,958 (6.0%)
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#13. Black Duck

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 4,667 (5.1% of national harvest)
- National: 90,663
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. New York: 15,405 (17.0% of national harvest)
--- #2. Maryland: 14,189 (15.7%)
--- #3. New Jersey: 13,959 (15.4%)
--- #4. Delaware: 6,414 (7.1%)
--- #5. Virginia: 5,661 (6.2%)
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#12. Blue-winged/Cinnamon Teal

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 5,478 (0.7% of national harvest)
- National: 841,091
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Louisiana: 216,167 (25.7% of national harvest)
--- #2. Texas: 206,993 (24.6%)
--- #3. Minnesota: 81,171 (9.7%)
--- #4. Florida: 50,214 (6.0%)
--- #5. North Dakota: 32,760 (3.9%)
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#11. Bufflehead

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 5,681 (3.1% of national harvest)
- National: 180,897
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. California: 25,937 (14.3% of national harvest)
--- #2. Michigan: 13,209 (7.3%)
--- #3. Virginia: 11,802 (6.5%)
--- #4. New Jersey: 11,791 (6.5%)
--- #5. Wisconsin: 10,072 (5.6%)
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#10. Northern Shoveler

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 5,884 (1.3% of national harvest)
- National: 470,613
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. California: 166,839 (35.5% of national harvest)
--- #2. Arkansas: 41,180 (8.8%)
--- #3. Texas: 39,648 (8.4%)
--- #4. Louisiana: 30,666 (6.5%)
--- #5. Utah: 26,394 (5.6%)
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#9. Northern Pintail

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 7,913 (2.1% of national harvest)
- National: 385,219
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. California: 76,760 (19.9% of national harvest)
--- #2. Texas: 33,283 (8.6%)
--- #3. Oregon: 32,940 (8.6%)
--- #4. Arkansas: 27,627 (7.2%)
--- #5. Washington: 22,435 (5.8%)
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#8. Hooded Merganser

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 10,753 (13.6% of national harvest)
- National: 79,255
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. North Carolina: 10,753 (13.6% of national harvest)
--- #2. Minnesota: 7,489 (9.4%)
--- #3. Michigan: 5,388 (6.8%)
--- #4. Kentucky: 4,949 (6.2%)
--- #5. Illinois: 4,339 (5.5%)
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#7. Wigeon

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 13,594 (2.3% of national harvest)
- National: 598,299
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. California: 141,603 (23.7% of national harvest)
--- #2. Washington: 88,526 (14.8%)
--- #3. Oregon: 78,695 (13.2%)
--- #4. Texas: 34,344 (5.7%)
--- #5. Oklahoma: 25,050 (4.2%)
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#6. Ring-necked Duck

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 15,014 (4.1% of national harvest)
- National: 365,154
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Texas: 44,422 (12.2% of national harvest)
--- #2. Florida: 41,741 (11.4%)
--- #3. Minnesota: 28,507 (7.8%)
--- #4. Louisiana: 24,658 (6.8%)
--- #5. California: 20,095 (5.5%)
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#5. Gadwall

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 21,101 (2.5% of national harvest)
- National: 827,555
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Arkansas: 155,077 (18.7% of national harvest)
--- #2. Texas: 87,783 (10.6%)
--- #3. Louisiana: 78,731 (9.5%)
--- #4. Oklahoma: 59,110 (7.1%)
--- #5. California: 43,462 (5.3%)
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#4. Mallard

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 23,130 (0.9% of national harvest)
- National: 2.5 million
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Arkansas: 389,125 (15.3% of national harvest)
--- #2. Washington: 188,043 (7.4%)
--- #3. Missouri: 177,561 (7.0%)
--- #4. Idaho: 150,403 (5.9%)
--- #5. Oregon: 135,613 (5.3%)
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#3. Canada Goose

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 33,417 (1.9% of national harvest)
- National: 1.8 million
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Michigan: 148,984 (8.3% of national harvest)
--- #2. Minnesota: 144,151 (8.1%)
--- #3. Wisconsin: 134,268 (7.5%)
--- #4. North Dakota: 96,192 (5.4%)
--- #5. Nebraska: 91,232 (5.1%)
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#2. Green-winged Teal

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 33,680 (2.3% of national harvest)
- National: 1.4 million
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. California: 291,968 (20.2% of national harvest)
--- #2. Texas: 135,520 (9.4%)
--- #3. Arkansas: 133,183 (9.2%)
--- #4. Louisiana: 124,167 (8.6%)
--- #5. Minnesota: 71,750 (5.0%)
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#1. Wood Duck

2021 estimated harvest
- North Carolina: 96,374 (8.9% of national harvest)
- National: 1.1 million
- States with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Arkansas: 111,290 (10.3% of national harvest)
--- #2. Georgia: 102,240 (9.5%)
--- #3. North Carolina: 96,374 (8.9%)
--- #4. Wisconsin: 86,499 (8.0%)
--- #5. Minnesota: 83,587 (7.8%)

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