| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Window 1 | 01 SEP – 17 OCT 2026 | 47d |
| Window 2 | 24 OCT – 27 NOV 2026 | 35d |
| Window 3 | 19 DEC 2026 – 09 JAN 2027 | 22d |
As publishedSept 1-Oct 17, 2026; Oct 24-Nov 27, 2026; Dec 19, 2026-Jan 9, 2027
Three-segment split season per MD DNR's official 2026-2027 calendar.Bag/possession limits and shooting-hours detail sourced from eRegulations, whose dates match the calendar exactly for every segment. Shooting hours: Sept 1-Oct 17 noon to sunset; after Oct 19, half hour before sunrise to sunset. Standard USFWS-approval-contingency boilerplate applies to all state migratory seasons but MD's own live calendar already reflects the finalized dates.
MD DNR does not publish a dove density or zone map. The season is statewide with three split segments, but the agency does manage a specific, geographically legible public dove-field program. Of roughly 21 named managed dove-field areas listed for the 2026-27 season, 12 sit in Eastern Shore counties (Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Wicomico, Worcester), versus 6 in central/southern Maryland (Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's) and 3 in western Maryland (Allegany, Washington), a genuine, countable public-access concentration on the Eastern Shore, though DNR frames this as a field-management footprint rather than a stated population-density claim.
Preliminary: Dove numbers are up over the last decade, at +1.72% per year from 2016 to 2025 on the federal survey, and the long-term record agrees at +0.44% per year across 59 years. This figure covers Delaware and Maryland together, not Maryland alone. These figures also run through 2025, one season behind this fall.
Recent decade up 1.72% per year across the combined Delaware and Maryland survey row.
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