Mourning dove, goose, teal seasons kick off

As the calendar turns from August to September, it also marks the first Wisconsin hunting opportunities for the season.

Friday is the start of the state's early Canada goose, early teal and mourning dove hunting seasons.

The migratory birds hunting seasons are managed under state and federal regulations.

The early Canada goose and mourning dove hunts are fixtures in the Wisconsin hunting regulation framework. The early teal season is in its fourth year as an experiment offered to Wisconsin and three other states in the upper Midwest.

The early Canada goose hunt will once again run statewide from Sept. 1 to 15 with a daily bag limit of five geese.

The early season provides an additional opportunity for the state's goose hunters as well as helps manage the resident population of Canadas, which in some places are considered nuisances.

Last year hunters registered 16,880 honkers in the early September season, a slight increase from 2015.

The number of licensed hunters 57,412 - also was a slight increase. Harvest records show 3,378 of the hunters were successful in taking at least one bird.

Prospects are good for honker hunters this fall. The 2017 statewide breeding Canada goose population estimate of 158,023 was up 22% from 2016 and 64% above the 31-year mean.

In-field validation of a goose harvest permit is no longer required, but hunters are still required to register their geese within 48 hours of harvest by calling (844) 426-3734 or online at

gamereg.wi.gov. Goose hunters must still carry proof they have a permit, either a paper copy, DNR-approved PDF displayed on a mobile device, Wisconsin driver's license or Go Wild Conservation Card.

The early teal season will run statewide Sept. 1 to 7 with a daily bag limit of six birds. Only blue-winged and green-winged teal may be targeted and harvested.

Opening day shooting hours for the teal season will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., followed by sunrise to 7 p.m. for the remainder of the season.

Results from Department of Natural Resources observations during the 2016 early teal season showed four of 31 hunting parties surveiled were in violation of the rules.

Fifty citations were issued overall, with most (21) for attempting to take non-teal ducks.

The DNR is planning a public input process or survey to help determine if the early teal season will be offered as a permanent hunt in Wisconsin.

The mourning dove season will run statewide Sept. 1 to Nov. 29. The daily bag limit is 15 birds.

At a population of about 300 million, mourning doves are one of the most abundant bird species in North America.

More than 40 states offer a hunting season for doves.

Banding and harvest data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicate 4 to 5 million doves migrate from Wisconsin each fall.

The dove population in Wisconsin has shown a slight increase over the long-term mean (since 1966) and the last decade, according to data collected by the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

Mourning dove hunting has received relatively little interest since it was legalized in Wisconsin in the 1990s.

The DNR expects 10,000 to 15,000 hunters to participate this year.

Hunters for geese, teal and doves are required to be HIP certified.

If any migratory bird hunter takes a banded bird, it should be reported at

www.reportband.gov. To report the bird, hunters need the band number (or numbers), location, time and method of recovery.