Daylight Opener For Georgia Dove Season; Duck Seasons Set

Brunch with your opening day dove shoot? The traditional late BBQ lunch as dove hunters shuffle their feet killing time before heading to the field on opening day may be replaced by a brunch after the shooting starts at daylight.

The 2021-2022 migratory bird season hunting dates and regulations were recently approved by the Board of Natural Resources, allowing hunters to begin making their plans for duck, dove and goose hunting, according to the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division (WRD).

“There is one notable change to the migratory bird regulations this year, and that is a change to the mourning dove hunting season. The first split will extend into early October, and shooting hours will begin a half-hour before sunrise on opening day,” said Tina Johannsen, Assistant Chief of the WRD Game Management Section.

Alan Isler, WRD Chief of Game Management, said the idea of beginning dove season at daylight instead of the traditional noon start began to pick up steam after a 2016 survey.

The survey question was: Currently, legal shooting hours for the opening day of the September season begin at 12 noon. Which of the following options do you prefer?
And the results were:
• Start legal shooting hours on opening day at 12:00 noon: 30.5%
• Start legal shooting hours on opening day 1/2 hour before sunrise: 48.2%
• No preference: 21.4%

The survey had 10,672 respondents to the question.

“The survey showed most hunters supported the change. The topic came back up after our January public meetings. When it came back up we decided to ask the board to consider the change and presented the change during our April public meetings. We received no comments on the change. The board voted last week to approve this change. Legal shooting hours for dove will begin a half-hour before sunrise on opening day starting September of 2021.”

Some other need-to-know dates and details for waterfowl season are that the September Canada goose season is set for Sept. 4-26, and the September teal season runs Sept. 11-26. Canada goose hunting has three additional seasons: Oct. 9-24, Nov. 20–28, and Dec. 12 – Jan. 31. Hunting season for ducks is Nov. 20-28 and Dec. 12 – Jan. 31. A complete summary of migratory bird hunting season dates and bag limits is listed below and is available at https://georgiawildlife.com/migratory-bird-info.

“Through the Natural Resources Management Act, Georgia will continue to offer two additional days of duck hunting to active duty military and veterans. These days will occur on the same dates as Youth Waterfowl Days, which is on Nov. 13-14 this year,” said Tina Johannsen.

On these two days, veterans, active-duty military and youth (age 16 or younger) may hunt specific migratory birds, such as ducks, Canada geese, and mergansers. Youth must be accompanied by an adult of at least 18 years of age (only the youth may hunt, unless the adult is a veteran or active duty military).

All Georgia hunting regulations can be found at https://georgiawildlife.com/hunting/regulations.

State license fees help support wildlife conservation in Georgia. The state receives federal funds from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program, based on a number of factors, including the number of paid sporting licenses. In Georgia, these funds are approximately $14 million a year and have helped restore habitat and improve wildlife populations, among other conservation efforts. Hunters may purchase licenses online at www.GoOutdoorsGeorgia.com, by phone at 1-800-366-2661 or at more than 800 license agent locations.

For more information, visit https://georgiawildlife.com/hunting/hunter-resources.