Mourning doves
Dove hunters should look for bands on harvested doves
Wisconsin’s fifth dove hunting season runs Sept. 1 through Oct. 30. Approximately 15,000 to 20,000 dove hunters are expected to take to the field at some point during the season.
Hunters are again being asked to examine harvested doves closely for any leg bands. For the third consecutive year, Wisconsin is participating in a national plan to monitor mourning dove populations for harvest management. Biologists set a goal of capturing and banding 750 doves at several locations in south, central and eastern area of the state with a small aluminum US Fish and Wildlife Service leg band. Hunters who harvest a banded dove are asked to report them to the Bird Banding Lab online at [http://www.reportband.gov] or by phone at 1-800-327-Band (2263).
In recent years, the spring call count surveys, coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, estimated that the continental population of mourning doves was about 400 million, making it one of the most abundant birds in North America. The 10-year population trend for Wisconsin shows a 3 percent increase. Hunters should expect to see numbers of doves similar to the last couple of years.
“Regulations and license requirements for dove hunting are contained in the 2007 Small Game Hunting Regulations pamphlet, which is available at any location that sells hunting licenses or online [http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/regs/index.htm].
“Doves use a wide range of habitats but fields with an abundance of weed seeds or grain, open gravel areas and water sources are all good locations to find doves. Successful hunting is usually a product of good location scouting” said Kent Van Horn, migratory game bird ecologist.
Mourning dove season: Sept. 1 to Oct. 30, with a daily bag of 15 birds.
