Dove Hunting Season Just Around Corner

LINCOLN – Dove hunting season begins soon and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has some reminders for those hunters, as well as recommendations for areas to hunt.

Doves may be hunted statewide. The season is Sept. 1-Oct. 30, with daily bag and possession limits of 15 and 30, respectively. Bag limits are for mourning, white-winged and Eurasian collared doves in aggregate.

Nebraska residents 16 years and older and all nonresidents are required to have a valid Nebraska hunting permit, habitat stamp and Harvest Information Program (HIP) number. Register at nehip.com, OutdoorNebraska.org/HIP, at any Game and Parks district office or by phone at 1-877-NEHUNTS. Hunter education certification is required for some hunters.

Dove hunters who find a leg band on a dove should contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service banding office at 1-800-327-BAND or report it at reportband.gov. In addition, randomly selected hunters will be asked to save one wing from each dove during the first week of the season and mail the wings postage-free to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Sunflower, millet or wheat, which generally provides good dove-hunting opportunities, have been planted at the following wildlife management areas (WMA) across the state. Planting and weather conditions may have reduced seed production in some plots:

North-central – Pine Glen, Thomas Creek, Bobcat, Plum Creek, Calamus Reservoir and Myrtle Hall

Northeast – Oak Valley, Wood Duck, Black Island, George Syas, Don Dworak and Elk Point Bend

Southeast – Branched Oak, Yankee Hill, Little Salt Creek West, Olive Creek, Little Salt Creek, Helmuth, Wildwood, Pawnee, Twin Lakes, Stagecoach, Osage, Kansas Bend, Peru Bottoms, Schilling, Rake’s Creek and Tobacco Island

Southwest – Cedar Valley, Wapiti, Clear Creek, Red Willow, Medicine Creek, Swanson Reservoir and Enders

South-central – Alexandria, Alexandria SW, Flathead, Little Blue, Little Blue East, Rose Creek, Rose Creek West, Arrowhead, Diamond Lake, Divorky Acres, Dry Sandy, Meridian and Sacramento-Wilcox

No fields were planted specifically for doves at Panhandle WMAs, but Buffalo Creek, Bordeaux Creek, Chadron Creek and Cedar Canyon provide good hunting opportunities around ponds or water sites.

Other WMAs throughout the state can provide good dove hunting opportunities, depending on local conditions. Contact the nearest Game and Parks office for area-specific information.

Eurasian collared doves may be harvested Oct. 31-Aug. 31. The daily bag and possession limits are 15 and 30, respectively.