| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Window 1 | 05 SEP – 18 OCT 2026 | 44d |
| Window 2 | 21 NOV – 29 NOV 2026 | 9d |
| Window 3 | 12 DEC 2026 – 17 JAN 2027 | 37d |
As publishedNorth Zone: Sep 5(pm)–Oct 18, Nov 21–29, Dec 12–Jan 17 2027; South Zone: Sep 12(pm)–Oct 25, Nov 21–29, Dec 12–Jan 17 2027
Split into North Zone and South Zone with slightly offset openers, otherwise identical structure/limits. South Zone counties: Baldwin, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Escambia, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Mobile. Both zones: opening day (Sep 5 North / Sep 12 South) is afternoon-only (noon to sunset); all other days are half-hour-before-sunrise to sunset. seasons array below reflects the North Zone (all counties not in the South Zone list); South Zone dates are Sep 12–Oct 25, Nov 21–29, Dec 12–Jan 17 2027 instead of the North Zone's Sep 5–Oct 18 first segment. Shared with white-winged dove on the same regulatory page.
Alabama's dove season is administratively split into a North Zone (58 counties) and South Zone (9 southernmost counties), but that split is purely a season-timing device -- the zones open about a week apart and otherwise share identical structure and limits, not a population-density claim. The real sub-state signal comes from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System: doves winter statewide but a much larger concentration migrates in each winter, and cold weather pushes birds toward the Gulf Coast; nesting also continues year-round in the state's extreme southern counties, unlike the rest of the state. That Gulf Coast winter-concentration finding overlaps closely with the South Zone's own county list. ADCNR also maintains public dove fields and limited-quota Special Opportunity Areas scattered across the state as an access layer on top of the general season, not a density claim.
The federal survey cannot say whether Alabama dove numbers are rising or falling. Its 2016 to 2025 estimate comes out at 0.19% per year, but the range around it runs from -1.00% to +1.44%, wide enough in both directions that no direction can be called. Read that as unknown, not as steady. The figures also run through 2025, one season behind this fall.
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