For the 2026-27 Season
By Ben Lewis/DWR
At times the dog days of summer seem to drag on for weeks instead of days; this is especially true for hunters eagerly anticipating fall and their favorite outdoor pursuits. For many, the opening day of dove season—September 5 this year—is the official start of the hunting season.
The tradition of the opening day dove hunt endures in Virginia as hunters gather in corn and sunflower fields for a challenging test of their wing-shooting abilities. During the 2024-25 season, it is estimated that one million dove hunters harvested over 14 million doves across the country. Harvest Information Program (HIP) surveys in Virginia indicate that during that same season, more than 20,000 hunters harvested over 275,000 doves in the Commonwealth.
Data from recent years indicate a robust dove population of approximately 330 million doves in North America with an estimated 80 million of those in the Eastern Management Unit, of which Virginia is a part. These population estimates are derived from leg-banding studies, call counts, breeding bird surveys, and, most importantly, surveys of dove hunters.
Weather Conditions
In 2026, early spring weather was warm and dry with below average rainfall amounts. Doves build shallow nests that can get damaged by wet and windy conditions. Conditions during the breeding season this year were very favorable for nesting doves and conducive to multiple nesting attempts.
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) conducts annual summer trapping and leg-banding of mourning doves to monitor population trends and harvest levels. Banding efforts this year indicated good numbers of young doves throughout the state with some banding stations reporting excellent numbers of hatch year doves. Overall, production looks like it will be above average across the state, which will hopefully mean a great dove season.
Habitat Conditions
Dove hunter success often depends not only on the dove populations and nesting success, but also on the condition of the habitat and the amount of food available. Conditions varied around the state, however, in most areas, planting dates for agricultural crops for doves were close to normal this year but coincided with drought conditions in many areas that may have caused stunted or failed crops.
Corn harvest will likely be in full swing during early September, which will open more feeding grounds for doves. This may also spread the birds out across the available habitat and make concentrations of birds harder to find. Some pre- or in-season scouting may be necessary to help locate areas that doves are using. Be sure not to overlook fresh clear-cut timber that can often contain an abundance of native plant foods like millets and pokeweed.
Reminders
Remember to check your birds for leg bands. DWR, along with other states across the country, captures and leg-bands doves in July and August, just prior to the hunting season. The information obtained from this banding program is used for evaluating dove population status and for developing hunting season regulations. About five to eight percent of the doves we band are recovered by hunters, and most of those recoveries occur within the state of Virginia. Most band recoveries occur during the first two weeks of the season, and nearly 90 percent of all recoveries occur during the month of September, an indication that most dove hunting occurs during September, especially the opening weekend.
Out-of-state recoveries of doves banded in Virginia have come predominantly from neighboring states or states in the southeastern U.S.—mainly North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. Recoveries of doves banded in states to the north of Virginia (including New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland) generally show up later in the season. Remember to report any bands you recover to the Bird Banding Laboratory website. This information is essential for evaluating dove movements and survival. In addition, you will receive a “Certificate of Appreciation” that includes information on where, when, and who banded the dove.
In addition to your hunting license, all migratory bird hunters (even if you are license exempt) are required to get a new HIP certification each year. You can get the free permit on our licensing website. Plan to do so well before opening day so you aren’t rushed trying to do everything at the last minute. Enjoy your hunting, be safe, and we hope your barrels stay hot!
Ben Lewis is DWR’s Wetland Wildlife Program Manager.
Dove Hunting on WMAs
Requirements & Regulations
