If you found yourself startled by the sound of gunfire Tuesday morning, don’t fear. (Unless you are a duck.)

Residents within earshot of water woke Tuesday to an unfamiliar sound. The duck hunting season, which is governed by a variety of permissible dates depending on the target, ramped up yesterday when the allowable bag limit of Scaup jumped from one to two birds, where it will remain through Jan. 21.

Also in hunter’s crosshairs are Brant geese, whose season began Dec. 23.
According to Michael Healey, the Chief Public Affairs Officer for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), the primary scaup locations are from Sabin Point to the Kickemuit and near Bristol Harbor.

“Considering the amount of gear and effort needed to hunt Scaup, we’d guess that most outdoorspeople who are interested in hunting this species would be out during this 20-day part of the season,” he said. “Brant are currently plentiful from Barrington Beach to Colt State Park.”

All regulations and information about permitting can be found under the Fish & Wildlife tab of the RIDEM website at dem.ri.gov.