Lehigh Valley Outdoors
  • Home
  • Hunting
  • Fishing
  • Boating
  • Archery
  • Sports Vehicles
  • Golf
  • Shooting Sports
  • Other
  • Home
  • Hunting
  • Fishing
  • Boating
  • Archery
  • Sports Vehicles
  • Golf
  • Shooting Sports
  • Other

Lehigh valley outdoors

By Nick Hromiak

Pennsylvania's split dove season kicks off Sept 1

8/22/2020

1 Comment

 

The upcoming Sept. 1 dove hunting season kicks off the first part of Pennsylvania’s small game season. 

Dove populations within the U.S. are estimated at 350 million with over 20 million harvested annually by hunters. 

Doves are the most abundant game birds in North America and in Pennsylvania alone, hunters take over 100,00 yearly.  

Despite these numbers We wish there was better news. when the season kicks off for a split season that runs until Nov. 27 and reopens again Dec. 18-Jan. 2. It’s also the date when the early  Canada goose season also opens which runs until Sept. 25. 

This pessimism is the result of a loss of habitat and hunting lands that fell prey to warehouses and housing developments by greedy, land grabbing developers. 

In Lehigh County, the primary dove hunting opportunities are on State Game Lands #205 in Lowhill Township where the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) traditionally plants wildlife food crops. 

If you do some intense searching, you may be lucky to find a farm to hunt after acquiring permission to hunt in upper Lehigh and Northampton counties.  

Compared to those counties, upper Berks County has more open farm lands where most are owned by Mennonite farmers who will often give hunting permission if appropriately approached. 

If new to dove hunting in Pennsylvania, and besides the general hunting license, hunters age 12 and older need a state migratory bird license. Fluorescent orange is not required but there are other important regulations. 

According to the PGC, agricultural crops and natural vegetation may be manipulated to improve dove hunting. Manipulation means the alteration of agricultural crops or natural vegetation by activities such as mowing, shredding, disking, rolling, chopping, trampling, flattening, burning, or herbicide treatments. Manipulation does not include the distributing or scattering of seeds, grains, or other feed after removal from or storage on the field where grown. Manipulation does not include the placement of grain in piles or other artificial concentrations. In Pennsylvania, the manipulation of the crop or vegetation for purposes of dove hunting must be done no later than September 15th each year. 

You may hunt doves over manipulated grain crops, such as wheat, milo, sorghum, millet, sunflower, and buckwheat.  Although you can hunt doves over manipulated agricultural crops, you cannot hunt waterfowl or other wildlife species over manipulated agricultural crops except after the field has been subject to a normal harvest and removal of grain recognized as a normal agricultural process. A managed dove field, which has had a crop manipulated, is off limits to hunting of all other species until 30 days after the manipulated grain and/or its residue is removed from the field.

Agricultural activities other than planting or harvesting also scatter grain or other feed in agricultural areas. You can hunt doves in such areas provided the agricultural operation involved is a normal agricultural practice. A normal agricultural planting is a planting undertaken for the purpose of producing or gathering a crop. Normal plantings do not involve the placement of grain in piles or other concentrations. You cannot, however, hunt in an area where grain, salt, or other feed has been placed to improve dove hunting.

I used to look forward to dove hunting with my son who when he was a teen 30 years ago, managed to shoot doubles on dove at a sunflower field in Macungie. A fete I never accomplished. It was a great mentoring and memorable dove hunting trip that will probably never again be realized since that field now houses homes and a nearby strip mall while our other huntable places saddenly also dried up. 

The daily dove limit is 15 with 45 in possession. Incidentally, their dark meat makes delightful table fare, especially if wrapped in bacon and cooked on a grille. I miss that too. 
​
1 Comment
essaybot link
9/5/2020 09:15:52 am

This season is definitely going to be one for the books. I love it when birds just make it to the worlds that I enjoy. I know that it is going to be a pain, but I want to see all of these lovely birds. If I can do that, then I believe that I would have achieved what I wanted to do in life. I want to be there when all of this starts, I really do want to.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Nick Hromiak has been an outdoors and automotive  writer for over 30 years. He's been published in numerous national and state-wide outdoor magazines and newspapers. 

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016

    RSS Feed

      Subscribe!

    Subscribe to Newsletter
Proudly powered by Weebly