New Jersey Bird Hunting

Seasons Span November 7 – February 15, 2027

New Jersey Upland Game Bird Hunting Overview

State DNR & Licensing Information

Upland game bird hunting in New Jersey is administered by the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife (NJFW).

License Requirements & Fees

• Resident Firearm Hunting License: $27.50
• Nonresident Firearm Hunting License: $135.50
• Nonresident 2-Day Small Game Firearm License: $36.50
• Pheasant & Quail Stamp: $40 for hunters 16 and older hunting on properties where NJFW releases pheasant or quail.
• HIP Certification: $2 and required for migratory birds including woodcock.
• Federal Migratory Bird Stamp: Required for applicable migratory species. (NJFW)

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Season Dates & Bag Limits — 2026–2027

Bobwhite Quail

• Season: November 7, 2026 – January 31, 2027
• Daily Limit: 4
• Open: Greenwood Forest WMA and Peaslee WMA only on stocked public lands
• Requirement: Pheasant & Quail Stamp

Pheasant

• Youth Upland Bird Day: October 31, 2026
• Youth Pheasant Days: November 2–6, 2026
• Regular Season: November 7, 2026 – February 15, 2027
• Daily Limit: 2
• Requirement: Pheasant & Quail Stamp on stocked WMAs
• Closure: December 7–12 and December 16, 2026

Chukar Partridge

• Season: November 7, 2026 – February 15, 2027
• Daily Limit: 7 in aggregate with Hungarian partridge
• Open: Stocked areas and other legally authorized areas

Hungarian Partridge

• Season: November 7, 2026 – February 15, 2027
• Daily Limit: 7 in aggregate with chukar
• Open: Stocked areas and other legally authorized areas

American Woodcock

• North Zone: October 24–31, 2026 & November 3–December 5, 2026
• South Zone: November 7–December 5 & December 19–31, 2026
• Daily Limit: 3
• HIP Certification: Required

Ruffed Grouse

• Season: Closed statewide.
• New Jersey closed the ruffed grouse season in 2019 because the population had fallen below a level considered capable of supporting regulated hunting. The primary problem is loss of young-forest habitat. (NJFW)

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Weather Assessment & Bird Hunting Outlook

Survey Methodology

New Jersey’s upland forecast has to be approached differently from states such as Nebraska or Montana because much of its public upland opportunity is stocking-driven rather than dependent on large wild populations.

NJFW stocks approximately 50,000 pheasants on 23 WMAs, plus limited releases at Fort Dix and Delaware Water Gap NRA. It also stocks approximately 11,000 quail at Greenwood Forest and Peaslee WMAs. Chukars are stocked on selected WMAs primarily for dog-training opportunities. (NJFW)

For wild birds, the forecast considers:

• NJFW population and habitat information;
• historical hunter observations and harvest information;
• winter severity and snow cover;
• spring nesting weather;
• summer precipitation and temperature;
• current soil-moisture/drought conditions;
• fall weather and woodcock migration conditions.

Weather Impact & Habitat Conditions

Winter 2025–26:
New Jersey had a genuinely significant winter for upland birds. Statewide winter precipitation was 2.86 inches below normal, while snowfall averaged 37.9 inches—12.6 inches above normal and the 21st-snowiest winter on record. February averaged 4.3°F below normal. January was the fifth-coldest January of this century. (Rutgers NJ State Climatologist)

That combination is a negative for overwinter survival, particularly for birds dependent on exposed winter food and cover. It was not an extreme winter by historic standards, but it was clearly harder than the previous several winters.

Spring 2026:
Spring turned substantially warmer, but precipitation remained deficient. April was the sixth-warmest April on record and precipitation remained below normal. May was the 42nd-driest May on record. (Rutgers NJ State Climatologist) (Rutgers NJ State Climatologist)

For ground-nesting birds, this is a mixed signal: warming encourages earlier breeding and vegetation growth, but persistent moisture deficits can reduce insect and forb production.

Early Summer 2026:
June was the 21st-driest June on record, with statewide precipitation 1.82 inches below normal. Southern New Jersey was particularly dry; the coastal division experienced its seventh-driest June on record. Temperatures averaged 1.6°F above normal. (Rutgers NJ State Climatologist)

That is a significant concern for brood-rearing conditions, particularly in the southern half of the state.

Long-term moisture:
The situation is more serious than one dry month. January–June precipitation totaled just 15.14 inches, 7.16 inches below normal and tied for the third-driest first half of a year since 1895. Twenty-three of the previous 26 months had below-normal precipitation. (Rutgers NJ State Climatologist)

Drought.gov independently confirms the severity: New Jersey’s June was the 21st-driest on record, and January–June was the third-driest. (Drought.gov)

2026–27 Statewide Population Outlook

• Bobwhite Quail — POOR: New Jersey’s wild bobwhite population is highly restricted and has experienced long-term decline. The public hunting opportunity is primarily based on the stocked birds at Greenwood Forest and Peaslee WMAs, so weather-driven wild population trends are less important to the actual hunter opportunity than stocking numbers and conditions at those two properties. The state’s prolonged drought is nevertheless unfavorable for natural reproduction.
• Ring-Necked Pheasant — GOOD: This is primarily a stocking forecast, not a wild-population forecast. With roughly 50,000 birds scheduled for release across 23 WMAs, hunter opportunity should remain predictable. Dry conditions could affect the quality of cover and bird behavior, but they do not fundamentally alter the number of stocked birds. (NJFW)
• Chukar Partridge — POOR–FAIR: Wild chukar are not an important New Jersey population. The principal state-managed opportunity comes from birds stocked for dog-training purposes. Consequently, weather has limited predictive value for the actual legal hunting opportunity.
• Hungarian Partridge — POOR: New Jersey does not support a significant wild Hungarian partridge population. Like chukar, this is primarily a minor/preserve-oriented opportunity rather than a destination wild-bird hunt.
• American Woodcock — FAIR: This is the most interesting wild upland forecast in New Jersey. Woodcock require moist soils and early-successional habitat, and NJFW has specifically created and maintained habitat for the species. The prolonged drought is a negative because dry soils reduce earthworm availability, but the northern part of the state received substantially more June rainfall than southern New Jersey. (NJFW) The fall forecast will ultimately depend heavily on migration timing, rainfall and cold fronts, particularly during October and November.
• Ruffed Grouse — NO HUNT / POOR POPULATION: This deserves explicit inclusion even though there is no season. New Jersey’s grouse population has declined severely as forests mature. NJFW reports that only about 5% of the state’s forest is younger than 20 years, and the agency closed the hunting season in 2019 because the population could not support a regulated hunt. (NJFW) Weather is secondary to the severe habitat limitation.

Overall New Jersey Outlook: FAIR.

New Jersey is a stocking-oriented upland state rather than a wild-game-bird destination. For hunters seeking a predictable pheasant hunt, the outlook remains good because NJFW’s large stocking program largely determines opportunity. But for someone looking for wild birds, woodcock is the principal species worth watching.

The weather story is also much more negative than a simple “current drought” assessment would suggest. New Jersey had a harder-than-normal winter, above-normal snowfall, a warm but dry spring, and an exceptionally dry first half of 2026. That sequence creates a meaningful cumulative concern for wild-bird reproduction. (Rutgers NJ State Climatologist) (Drought.gov)

Forecast confidence: Moderate. The pheasant forecast is high-confidence because stocking largely determines opportunity. The woodcock forecast is lower-confidence because the most important remaining variables—late-summer habitat moisture and fall migration weather—have yet to play out. The wild quail and partridge populations are too limited to justify a strong statewide hunting forecast.

For the most accurate and up-to-date information, consult the NJDEP Fish & Wildlife website or the 2025-26 New Jersey Hunting Regulations guide before planning your hunt.