Gary Engberg Outdoors

Wisconsin’s Fall Dove Hunting by Gary A. Engberg 8-31-2010

gengberg August 31st, 2010

Wisconsin’s Fall Dove Hunting Wisconsin legislated its first dove season in 2000 after much public debate. Since then, the number of dove hunters has slowly increased without affecting the overall dove numbers in the state. The state did a rough estimate and guessed that between 20,000 and 30,000 Wisconsin residents hunt this migratory gamebird. The state has supported a limited and regulated hunting season for doves since 2000 and there have been few changes since the first hunt. The Wisconsin DNR never expected the creation of a dove season to be a boom to the sale of hunting licenses and new hunters and it hasn’t. But, it has its nitch in the hunting community and loyal followers.
Dove hunting in Wisconsin will never be at the level that it is in southern and south-western states, but gradually more and more hunters are starting to take advantage of this early hunting season which opens on September 1st and continues now to November 9, 2010.
The DNR calculates that the average hunter might harvest 5 doves per season which seems a little low with the hunting that I’ve seen in the state the last few hunting seasons. The state also predicts that the annual fall harvest of morning doves in Wisconsin to be between 100,000 and 150,000 birds. Considering that somewhere between 4 and 5 million doves migrate through Wisconsin, the harvest figure, though possibly a little low, is a relatively small number and doesn’t impact the overall dove population.
Nationally, dove hunting has been a cherished hunting season for many decades with 40 states now having a dove hunting season. The dove is the countries most hunted gamebird with over 40 million birds annually harvested. But, people most realize that only 10 to 15% of the bird’s mortality comes from hunting. Most of the dove mortality is caused by predators, disease, accidents, and weather extremes. This is why the DNR believes that hunting will not affect the number of doves in the Badger State.
The reproductive cycle of doves begins in Wisconsin in late April or early May when egg laying begins and continues into early September when fledging begins. Doves build scant nests of twigs and grasses in trees and shrubs 10-30 feet above ground. In wooded areas, maples and elms are their preferred trees and in the open areas doves like coniferous shelterbelts and windbreaks for their nests. Morning doves lay two white eggs per clutch and raise anywhere from 2 to 5 clutches per year. Both parents share in the incubation and rearing activities. The young doves, called squabs, hatch without any feathers and grow at a rapid rate, increasing their weight 14 times in the first 15 days. Doves can survive on their own 5-9 days after leaving the nest and most leave the nest area within 2 to 3 weeks of fledging. Young doves are indistinguishable from adults at the age of three months. Nesting success averages about 53% and recent research has shown that the dove productivity is above the level needed to maintain the dove population in Wisconsin and the United States.
Doves are very adaptable when it comes to picking their habitat. Good dove habitat will include; trees for roosting and nesting, a good food source close by, and a water source. Coniferous forests, deciduous forests, urban, residential, and agricultural areas can all be a “home territory” for the morning dove. The abundance of agricultural acres in the southern 2/3’s of Wisconsin make the state home to millions of doves. Continue Reading »