Puddle Duck Finder See which marsh suits puddle ducks before you leave the house.
Puddle Duck Finder ranks the marsh, flats, ponds and flooded timber within 5 miles of any address in New York, Vermont or New Hampshire where puddle ducks like to feed and rest. Each spot comes with the reasons it ranks, whether the land is listed as public (and by whom), and how far it is from the nearest house. It maps habitat, not property rights or legal access.
For duck hunters, birders and wildlife photographers alike: a good morning doesn't have to end in a full strap.
Puddle Duck Finder checks a map against set criteria and shares waypoints where the habitat is most likely to offer a chance to see puddle ducks. It reads the land and water only, not whether animals are there today. A spot is not permission to hunt, fish, enter or cross any land.
Black ducks, mallards, teal, wigeon, gadwall and wood ducks
Welcome back
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Picking the spot is the hard part
Most of us get a handful of mornings a season. The decoys, the calling and the shooting all come after one decision: where to set up. Across the Northeast that decision is harder than it looks.
It all looks like marsh from the road
From Long Island's salt marsh to the Montezuma pools and Adirondack beaver flows, only some of the water holds puddle ducks: the flats and shallows they feed on, open pockets mixed into the cover, and big water close by to rest on.
Scouting eats the season
Walking unfamiliar marsh to find one good pocket can cost the mornings you were saving to hunt, watch or photograph it.
The rules change every few hundred yards
If you hunt, every state has its own safety zone around houses (New York 500 feet, New Hampshire 300 feet; in Vermont, where the owner has posted one). Town marsh, state land and federal refuges each have their own rules and permits for hunting, viewing and boats, and the lines aren't painted on the water.
Getting in is half the battle
Some marsh is a short walk from a road. Some you can only reach by boat or kayak, and you'd rather learn which at home than at 5 a.m.
The wind decides the day
A pocket that's perfect in a northwest blow can be miserable in a southeaster. Ducks look for shelter, and so do you.
What Puddle Duck Finder shows you
Search an address or tap your location. You get the 15 best spots within 5 miles, ranked, each one explained in plain English.
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Where they feed and rest
Tidal flats, open pockets in the grass, impoundments and beaver water, scored for food, cover, nearby big water and how far it is from roads and houses.
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A public way in, or none
On Pro, a route, Guide me and listed parking only where every step is on public roads or listed public land. Spots on private land are marked "Private Land ยท Permission may be required" and never get directions.
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Listed public land, and how close the houses are
"Public per [source], as of [date]" from NYS DEC, NYS Parks or USGS PAD-US, with a reminder to check that land's rules (viewing may be allowed where hunting is not), plus the distance and direction to the nearest building.
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Which winds it's sheltered from
Based on the tall cover around each spot, so you can match the spot to the forecast.
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A bird log that works with no signal
Pin what you see, or that you saw nothing. On Pro, spots you looked at at home stay on your phone for the marsh.
Put it on your phone
Puddle Duck Finder installs straight from this site to your home screen. There's nothing to get from an app store, it takes a few seconds, and it's free to install.
- Opens full screen from its own icon, like any other app.
- Spots and map you looked at at home still work in the marsh with no signal.
- Updates itself. Nothing to download again.
- Open puddleduckfinder.com in Safari.
- Tap the Share button at the bottom (top right on iPad).
- Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen, then Add.
- Open puddleduckfinder.com in Chrome.
- Tap the menu ⋮ at the top right.
- Tap Add to Home screen (or Install app), then Install.
Puddle Duck Finder is on your home screen. Open it from there.
What it can't tell you
Puddle Duck Finder reads habitat: where the marsh suits puddle ducks. It can't see whether birds are there today. Migration, weather, tide, ice and hunting pressure decide that, and nothing replaces scouting. Always confirm who owns a spot and what that land allows: viewing may be allowed where hunting is not. A spot is not permission to hunt, fish, enter or cross any land.
How we checked it
We checked the map against about 15,000 places across New York where puddle ducks were reported in fall and winter (2012 to 2025), counting only places at least 500 feet from any building (New York's rule for shooting over water). It does best in marsh country, such as Montezuma, the Finger Lakes and the Lake Ontario shore, where it clearly beats simply picking water. Across most of the state it's a solid starting point, not a guarantee. It's weakest on big rivers and open water (the St. Lawrence, the Niagara River, the South Shore bays) and in cities. Use it to decide where to scout, then trust your eyes.
Vermont and New Hampshire were added in October 2026 and haven't been checked against duck sightings yet, so treat the map there as untested.
Free through November 1, by invitation
We're opening Puddle Duck Finder to a small group of New York duck hunters, birders and photographers for the opening weeks of the 2026-27 season. Use it, log what you see, birds or no birds, and tell us where it's right and where it's wrong.
Not ready to ask? Use it free with a free account: the duck-habitat map and listed public boat launches within 2.5 miles of where you search, your own map of blinds, launches and paddle routes, and, with a free account, 5 spot searches wherever you choose.
Plans
Not for you? Get a full refund, no questions asked: within 7 days of your first payment on a monthly plan, or within 30 days on any other plan. One tap in your account. One refund per customer per app.
Free
$0
The heat map and boat launches within 2.5 miles of your search point, your own places, trails and bird log, and 5 spot searches, each showing up to 3 spots on listed public land.
Starter
The heat map and boat launches within 5 miles of your search point, unlimited searches (up to 3 public spots each), plus weather, tide and solunar. No private-land spots or navigation.
Pro
The heat map and boat launches within 30 miles of your search point. Hunt journal and Hunt Party. Every spot on listed public land, plus private land when you switch it on (clearly marked, never with directions); routes, Guide me and listed parking where there's a public way in; offline.
Puddle Duck Finder reads habitat; it doesn't find or guarantee birds. A spot is not permission to hunt, fish, enter or cross any land. Payments are handled by Stripe. Terms
Know what you're looking at
- American black duck vs hen mallard (Ducks Unlimited). They look alike, and their bag limits differ. If you hunt, identify every bird before you shoot.
- New York hunting and trapping regulations (NYS DEC). Rules differ by state.
- Vermont hunting regulations (Vermont Fish and Wildlife).
- New Hampshire hunting regulations (NH Fish and Game). Puddle Duck Finder covers New York, Vermont and New Hampshire only.