Conn. Agencies Regs. § 26-66-4

Current through December 4, 2024

Section 26-66-4 - Wild Fowl and Shore Birds

The open season daily bag limit and possession limit for migratory game birds and the method of taking such game birds shall be the same as the open season, daily bag limit, possession limit and methods of taking fixed for such birds by the regulations of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service made under the provisions of an act of Congress relating to migratory birds, and as provided under the provisions of section 26-91 of the Connecticut General Statutes, except as provided in section 26-66-1(c) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.

(a) No person, except the commissioner, may construct or place any permanent blind or structure for hunting of waterfowl on state-controlled lands or waters. Any such permanent blind or structure may be removed or destroyed by the commissioner at any time.

(b) All waterfowl hunting on state-controlled lands and waters of Great Island, Old Lyme and Ragged Rock Creek, Old Saybrook, shall be from waterfowl hunting blinds only, except that cripples may be recovered by shooting within the area open to hunting.

(c) Waterfowl hunting in the Niantic River in the towns of Waterford and East Lyme is subject to the following regulations:

(1) Hunting is prohibited from shore or in the intertidal area without the permission of the riparian property owner;

(2) Hunting is prohibited in the water areas northerly of an east and west line which touches the southern tip of Sandy Point and includes Keeny Cove;

(3) Hunting from boats is permitted only along the midline of the river;

(4) Hunting is prohibited in Smith Cove and the channel entering Smith Cove in East Lyme.

(d) Waterfowl hunting is prohibited in Alewife Cove and entrance channel, Waterford and New London, and in Jordan Cove, north from the mean high water line on the northern side of the sand spit and island.

(e) Except during the regular duck season scaup, scoter, eider and old squaw may be hunted only in coastal waters and all waters of rivers and streams lying seaward from the first upstream bridge.

(f) There shall be no waterfowl hunting on or from the tidal waters of the inlet between Cuttings Road, Compo Beach Road and Owenoke Park, known as Gray's Creek, Westport.

(g) There shall be no waterfowl hunting in Cove Pond (Holly Pond) Stamford and Darien north of the dam.

(h) The open season for taking crows shall be from the second Saturday in January through the last Saturday in March and on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from the second Saturday in August through November 30.

(i) There shall be no waterfowl hunting in the tidal waters of Cove Harbor within 100 feet of the mean high tide mark of the Darien shore.

(j) Except when specifically authorized by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for use during a special hunting season and as published in the migratory bird hunting guide, no person shall take migratory game birds with a shotgun of any description capable of holding more than three shells, unless it is plugged with a one-piece filler, incapable of removal without disassembling the gun, so its total capacity does not exceed three shells.

(k) Waterfowl hunting in the Thames River in the Town of Waterford is prohibited in Smith Cove northwest and above the railroad tracks, and from the shores and waters in the vicinity of Mamacoke Island in Mamacoke Cove westward of a line running from the easternmost point of land at Harrison's Landing due north to the point where it intersects the southernmost tip of Mamacoke Island, and from the shores and waters within the unnamed cove west of Mamacoke Island southward of a line running due east from the southernmost point of shoreline of the unnamed waterbody west of the railroad tracks, the shores and waters of which shall also be closed to waterfowl hunting, to a point intersecting the shoreline of Mamacoke Island.

(l) Waterfowl hunting shall be prohibited in the area of Mason's Island known as Ram Point Cove inland of a line extending from the high water mark on the southernmost tip of Ram Point to the southernmost tip of Mason's Island bordering the eastern side of Ram Point Cove.

(m) There shall be no waterfowl hunting in the Black Hall River in Old Lyme in the area bordered on the south by Route 156 and on the north by the first upstream railroad crossing.

(n) No person shall kill or wound any waterfowl without making a reasonable effort to retrieve the bird. Any bird which is killed or wounded and not retrieved shall count in the daily bag total.

(o) A waterfowl hunting party shall include no more than 6 individuals with a minimum distance of 100 yards between parties.

(p) There shall be no waterfowl hunting in Assekonk Swamp, North Stonington.

(q) For waterfowl, coot, and rail hunting, only the following shot shall be used:

(1) Non-toxic steel shot no larger than BB steel, or

(2) Bismuth-tin alloy (97% bismuth and 3% tin), Tungsten Polymer, or tungsten iron shot or tungsten-matrix (95.9% tungsten: 4.1 % polymer), tungsten-nickel-iron (Hevishot) or any other non-toxic shot approved for use by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service no larger than number two. No person may possess lead shot while waterfowl hunting.

(r)

(1) There shall be no waterfowl hunting in any direction within a 500 foot radius of the mean high tide mark at Merwin Point in Milford.

(2) There shall be no waterfowl hunting within the area bounded by the shoreline and a line from the southernmost extension of the 500 foot radius at Merwin Point in Milford referenced in subdivision (1) of this subsection westward to the southeastern shoreline at Pond Point in Milford.

(s) Waterfowl hunting is prohibited in the area known as the Cedar Point peninsula, shoreward of a line extending from the southerly tip of the stone breakwall at the eastern end of Compo Beach to the tip of Cedar Point and to the westerly tip of Owenoke Point in Westport.

(t) There shall be no waterfowl hunting in or from the banks of the Mystic River between Route 1 and Route 27 in Mystic and Groton.

(u) There shall be no waterfowl hunting in or from the banks of Ash Creek north of a line drawn from the northern end of the steel railing on the fishing pier in Fairfield to the northern end of the stone seawall in Bridgeport at the mouth of the creek where it enters Long Island Sound.

(v) Waterfowl hunting is prohibited from the shore and water in the Giant's Neck area of East Lyme at the mouth of the Pataguanset River northward of a line running due west from the south end of the fixed pier located at the Giant's Neck Boat Association Launch to the south end of the breakwall located at the end of Point Road.

(w) Waterfowl hunting is prohibited from the shores and waters of Long Island Sound in Greenwich as follows:

(1) In Greenwich Cove, north of a line extending from the easternmost point of land at Willowmere Point to the northernmost point of land on the peninsula immediately north of Meadow Place.

(2) In Cos Cob Harbor, north of a line extending due east from the southeasternmost point of land at the power plant property off of Sound Shore Road to the shoreline adjacent to Glen Avon Road.

(3) In Greenwich Harbor, Smith Cove and Indian Harbor, north of a line extending from the northernmost tip of the area known as Round Island on the west side of Greenwich Harbor to the southernmost tip of the peninsula at the end of Indian Field Road.

(4) In Byram Harbor, north of a line extending northeastward from the end of Dock Road to the southeastern most tip of Gamecock Island across Byram Harbor to the southernmost tip of the unnamed peninsula immediately west of Harbor Drive.

(x) Waterfowl hunting is prohibited from the shores and waters of the Branford River in Branford from Route 1 south to Montowese Avenue.

(y) Waterfowl hunting is prohibited from the shores and waters in Post Cove in Deep River southward of the dike that extends across the northern edge of the cove.

(z) Waterfowl hunting is prohibited from the shores and waters in the area known as Long Shore Club Park in Westport shoreward of a line extending from the westerly tip of Owenoke Point to the southwest tip of Hendricks Point.

(aa) Waterfowl hunting at Plum Bank Marsh Wildlife Management Area in Old Saybrook is prohibited north and east of a line extending from Southview Circle southeast to Gull Lane.

(bb) Waterfowl hunting is prohibited from the shores and waters of the Quinnipiac River in New Haven from the Middletown Avenue Bridge south to the Amtrak Route 1 Bridge.

(cc) Waterfowl hunting is prohibited from the shores and waters of the Housatonic River in Milford and Stratford southward from the I-95 bridge to a line extending from Edgemont Road in Milford across the river to Riverview Place in Stratford.

(dd) There shall be no waterfowl hunting on the West River in Guilford between Route 1 and Route 146.

(ee) There shall be no waterfowl hunting on the West River in West Haven between Route 1 and Route 122 (Kimberly Avenue).

Conn. Agencies Regs. § 26-66-4

Effective October 18, 1996; Amended October 22, 1997; Amended May 29, 1998; Amended August 30, 1999; Amended December 18, 2002; Amended April 27, 2005; Amended August 3, 2009; Amended October 4, 2011; Amended September 9, 2013; Amended July 7, 2016; Amended 2/4/2020