DELAWARE
In Delaware, waterfowlers have several excellent wildlife areas available to hunt. One such choice for public-land gunning is the Woodland Beach Wildlife Area (WA), which is in Kent County, approximately 10 miles east of Smyrna and 20 miles south of Port Penn. Woodland Beach is also directly south of the Cedar Swamp WA and adjacent to the expansive Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge (NWR).

Woodland Beach is a tidal salt marsh at the base of the Delaware River and near the upper end of Delaware Bay. This 4,794-acre brackish-water estuary consists largely of marsh habitat along with numerous ponds and impoundments. In 1953, the first land was purchased for the Woodland Beach WA, and since that time, the area has become a popular waterfowling destination for Delaware hunters.

Waterfowl hunting on all of Delaware's wildlife areas is highly regulated and hunters should be familiar with all regulations, including any area-specific rules before seeking ducks or geese.

These rules may also differ from area to area and from the normal Delaware waterfowling seasons. Waterfowl hunting is allowed in the Woodland Beach WA by permit only. Permits for water blinds, field blinds and pits are free and issued by means of a daily lottery at the Woodland Beach Checking Station located on SR 9, approximately 1.5 miles north of the intersection of SRs 9 and 6. This intersection is directly across from the Aquatic Resource Education Center, which is the old M&M Hunting Lodge. This center, which is run by the Delaware DFW, provides educational programs to school groups and other members of the public about aquatic resources, such as wetlands and fisheries.

The lottery is conducted 1 1/2 hours before legal shooting time. Hunters should arrive at the check station at least 15 minutes prior to the time of lottery to determine the parties that will be allowed to hunt at specific locations. Permits must be returned to the check station at the end of each day's hunt. Failure to accurately report your harvest and return permits to the check station can result in loss of hunting privileges.

As with all waterfowl hunting on Delaware state land, duck and goose hunting at Woodland Beach is conducted from state-built and maintained blinds or pits that are located within each tract. Hunters are assigned a specific blind or pit during the daily lottery and no more than three people are permitted in each.

Hunters using the facility must park in designated areas and may not drive into fields for any reason. Maps of these areas are available showing all boundary lines, parking areas, boat launches, blind locations and special rules that pertain to specific areas. Also, an area may be closed to duck hunting during snow goose season at the discretion of the DFW.

Wayne Lehman, fish and wildlife regional manager for the Delaware DFW, who is in charge of Woodland Beach, said the area is divided into four waterfowl hunting tracts, that include the Main, West, McKay and Lighthouse tracts.

"Currently Woodland Beach has a total of 39 blinds that are located on the different tracts and are available to the public on varying days," Lehman said.

Lehman explained that there are 31 marsh blinds, five field blinds of which three are goose pits, and three lake blinds. The marsh blinds are available every day during Delaware's season; however, prospective hunters in these areas must have a boat and all required safety equipment. A free boat ramp is located on SR 6 in the town of Woodland Beach. Lehman warns that hunters using boats need to be aware that the area has up to a 5-foot tide swing.