Dove season is around the corner

Mourning dove hunting season opens statewide on Thursday, Sept. 1, and continues through Oct. 16.

Dove season reopens with the start of the upland small-game season on Friday, Nov. 4 and conclude on Nov. 27. Hunting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise until sunset. The daily bag limit is 15 with a possession limit of 30.

“Most mourning doves are harvested in September but great dove hunting can be found later in the season with a little scouting,” said Budd Veverka, DNR’s farmland game research biologist. “Looking at data from the past five years, I would expect to see approximately 13,000 dove hunters harvest nearly 227,000 mourning doves in 2011.

“Doves are found throughout the state, but will concentrate in areas associated with farming,” according to Veverka. “Recently harvested grain fields with water nearby are typically hotspots for dove hunting.”

Veverka also added a few other tips.

”Remember to respect property rights and get permission, clean up spent shells, and drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration,” he said.

To hunt mourning doves, Indiana residents must purchase an annual hunting license for $17, or hunt/fish combo for $25, and the Game Bird Habitat Stamp for $6.75. Nonresidents must also purchase the game bird habitat stamp in addition to the $80 annual nonresident hunting license or the $31 five-day nonresident hunting license.

Youth 17 and younger who are Indiana residents can get a youth consolidated hunt/trap license, which includes all Indiana Stamp privileges (including the Game Bird Habitat Stamp). Federal regulations require all licensed dove hunters (including lifetime license holders) to register with the Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (HIP) and carry proof of registration while hunting. HIP registration is free and available at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3567.htm or by calling 1-866-671-4499.

Hunters using state fish & wildlife areas or state-owned reservoirs are required to use non-toxic shot when hunting mourning doves. Additionally, hunters may not hunt migratory birds with a shotgun capable of holding more than three shells (i.e., shotgun must be “plugged”).

More than a thousand mourning doves are banded with leg bands each summer in Indiana to determine mourning dove harvest rates, estimate annual survival, and provide information on the geographical distribution of the harvest. Information on dove survival and harvest rates is key to understanding the effects of annual hunting regulations on mourning dove populations. If you harvest a banded bird, you can report it by calling 1-800-327-BAND (2263) or at www.reportband.gov. Hunters may keep any bands they recover.

Go to www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/2713.htm for more information regarding dove hunting.