| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Window 1 | 01 SEP – 08 NOV 2026 | 69d |
| Window 2 | 12 DEC 2026 – 01 JAN 2027 | 21d |
As publishedSept 1, 2026 - Nov 8, 2026 and Dec 12, 2026 - Jan 1, 2027
Split season with two segments.By far Ohio's most-hunted migratory game bird (ODNR's 2020-21 hunter survey estimated ~23,234 hunters and ~310,392 birds harvested statewide that season - historical context only, not current-year data). HIP certification required per general migratory-bird rule.
Ohio's most-hunted migratory game bird (an estimated 23,234 hunters and 310,392 birds harvested in the 2020-21 season per ODNR's own Hunter Questionnaire) has a real, sourced regional gradient rather than a genuinely uniform statewide distribution. The Ohio Ornithological Society's own account states doves are most plentiful in the Illinois Till Plains region of southwestern Ohio, specifically the farmland surrounding Cincinnati and other urban areas, and across the intensively farmed agricultural regions of western Ohio generally, while being somewhat less plentiful (though still well represented) around Lake Erie and in northeastern Ohio. Separately, ODNR maintains its own Dove Hunting Areas Map showing specifically managed dove fields on Wildlife Areas statewide, an access signal layered on top of the regional-abundance pattern, not a substitute for it.
The federal survey cannot say whether Ohio dove numbers are rising or falling. Its 2016 to 2025 estimate comes out at -1.39% per year, but the range around it runs from -2.80% to +0.12%, 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.
Join the waitlist and tell us what you’re working on — the planner reads it first once your access opens.
Free, invite-gated, unsubscribe anytime. See what it returns