Most commonly hunted migratory birds in Nova Scotia

Stacker compiled a list of the most commonly hunted migratory birds in Nova Scotia using data from a report released by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in August 2025. Duck and goose species are ranked by the estimated 2023 hunting harvest in Nova Scotia.

In 2024 Nova Scotia had the largest estimated harvest of all provinces for 1 migratory bird species: Long-tailed Duck.

#10. Goldeneyes
- Nova Scotia: 304 (2.9% of national harvest)
- National: 10,501
- Provinces with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Ontario: 3,804 (36.2% of national harvest)
--- #2. Quebec: 2,446 (23.3%)
--- #3. New Brunswick: 1,238 (11.8%)
--- #4. Alberta: 815 (7.8%)
--- #5. Manitoba: 759 (7.2%)

#9. Bufflehead
- Nova Scotia: 390 (3.2% of national harvest)
- National: 12,246
- Provinces with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Ontario: 7,087 (57.9% of national harvest)
--- #2. Manitoba: 1,894 (15.5%)
--- #3. Alberta: 948 (7.7%)
--- #4. Quebec: 769 (6.3%)
--- #5. Saskatchewan: 700 (5.7%)

#8. Greater Scaup
- Nova Scotia: 393 (6.0% of national harvest)
- National: 6,590
- Provinces with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Ontario: 3,377 (51.2% of national harvest)
--- #2. Quebec: 1,167 (17.7%)
--- #3. Newfoundland and Labrador: 1,035 (15.7%)
--- #4. Nova Scotia: 393 (6.0%)
--- #5. New Brunswick: 329 (5.0%)

#7. Eiders
- Nova Scotia: 493 (8.2% of national harvest)
- National: 6,007
- Provinces with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Newfoundland and Labrador: 3,817 (63.5% of national harvest)
--- #2. Quebec: 1,425 (23.7%)
--- #3. Nova Scotia: 493 (8.2%)
--- #4. New Brunswick: 247 (4.1%)
--- #5. Ontario: 14 (0.2%)

#6. Long-tailed Duck
- Nova Scotia: 784 (30.3% of national harvest)
- National: 2,588
- Provinces with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Nova Scotia: 784 (30.3% of national harvest)
--- #2. Quebec: 721 (27.9%)
--- #3. Newfoundland and Labrador: 553 (21.4%)
--- #4. Ontario: 372 (14.4%)
--- #5. New Brunswick: 152 (5.9%)

#5. Scoters
- Nova Scotia: 1,382 (29.3% of national harvest)
- National: 4,718
- Provinces with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Quebec: 2,066 (43.8% of national harvest)
--- #2. Nova Scotia: 1,382 (29.3%)
--- #3. Ontario: 511 (10.8%)
--- #4. Newfoundland and Labrador: 349 (7.4%)
--- #5. New Brunswick: 240 (5.1%)

#4. Green-winged Teal
- Nova Scotia: 1,947 (3.6% of national harvest)
- National: 53,572
- Provinces with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Quebec: 15,256 (28.5% of national harvest)
--- #2. Ontario: 10,220 (19.1%)
--- #3. Saskatchewan: 6,683 (12.5%)
--- #4. Manitoba: 6,268 (11.7%)
--- #5. Alberta: 4,271 (8.0%)

#3. Mallard
- Nova Scotia: 2,204 (0.6% of national harvest)
- National: 353,464
- Provinces with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Saskatchewan: 111,003 (31.4% of national harvest)
--- #2. Alberta: 78,120 (22.1%)
--- #3. Ontario: 68,624 (19.4%)
--- #4. Quebec: 36,054 (10.2%)
--- #5. British Columbia: 27,465 (7.8%)

#2. Black Duck
- Nova Scotia: 10,494 (19.5% of national harvest)
- National: 53,689
- Provinces with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Quebec: 18,945 (35.3% of national harvest)
--- #2. Nova Scotia: 10,494 (19.5%)
--- #3. Ontario: 8,345 (15.5%)
--- #4. New Brunswick: 6,399 (11.9%)
--- #5. Newfoundland and Labrador: 5,973 (11.1%)

#1. Canada Goose
- Nova Scotia: 10,829 (1.7% of national harvest)
- National: 619,883
- Provinces with the largest harvests:
--- #1. Ontario: 150,030 (24.2% of national harvest)
--- #2. Saskatchewan: 138,803 (22.4%)
--- #3. Alberta: 121,372 (19.6%)
--- #4. Quebec: 103,027 (16.6%)
--- #5. Manitoba: 52,643 (8.5%)