August and September are pivotal months on the outdoors calendar.
Summer has reach its zenith and fall is waiting in the wings. Hunters are counting the days and the numbers tell a story.
1 — Two migratory bird seasons open on September 1, the mourning dove and early Canada goose.
Dove season is highly anticipated by Kentucky hunters. It’s a time for family and friends to get together for a group shoot, followed by a cookout or picnic. Doves are typically hunted over fields of cut sunflowers, harvested corn, or harvested tobacco fields, planted with winter wheat as a cover crop.
A stormy and rainy spring and summer may have negatively impacted dove nesting success, but John Brunjes, migratory bird program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, said it’s too early to tell.
During July and August each year, department biologists live trap and band about 1,500 to 2,000 doves, which provides trend data on reproductive success.
“We suspect there will be a lot of late nesting doves this year,” said Brunjes. “We won’t know for sure until late August.”
Dove populations are cyclic, but long term, populations are stable in the Eastern Management Unit of the U.S., Brunjes said. Doves are hunted in Kentucky during a 90-day split season.
Kentucky’s flock of temperate nesting Canada geese, so-called resident geese, is growing and is estimated to number about 27,700, not including birds that live in urban areas.
Population densities are highest in the Golden Triangle area of Central Kentucky, because of the region’s many ponds, small lakes and lush expanses of mowed grass.
These birds raise their young and spend most of their lives within 25 miles of where they were born, nesting mostly in rural areas and flying short distances in search of food — grass, sprouting winter wheat and harvested grains (corn) during the cold weather months.
In Kentucky, resident Canada geese are hunted during a special early 15-day season.
5 — Opening day of archery deer and wild turkey seasons is September 5.
These seasons run concurrently for 136 days and offer maximum opportunity for hunters, during a wide range of weather conditions.
Archery season starts in late summer and ends during the cold, snowy weather of mid-January. Last season archers checked in 18,369 deer. The five year average deer harvest by archers is 18,547. The all-time record deer harvest by archers occurred during the 2013-14 season (20,835).
Bow hunters reported harvesting 694 wild turkeys last fall. The five year average is 884. The all-time record fall turkey harvest by archers occurred during the 2009-10 season (1,106).
15 – Opening day of fall squirrel season is August 15.
The 184-day season is split and is open during all or parts of seven months, ending Feb. 29, 2016.
In August squirrels are cutting hickory nuts, but they begin feeding on acorns in September, and walnuts by November, most years, depending on mast availability.
19 – Opening day of early wood duck and teal season is
Kentucky waterfowl hunters get a second chance to hunt during the month of September during a five-day wood duck season, Sept. 19-23, and a nine-day teal season, Sept. 19-27.
The early season has become especially popular in Central and Eastern Kentucky, where hunters are more likely to encounter wood ducks than teal. Wood ducks are hunted in creeks, wetlands, ponds, small lakes and rivers.
Each year department biologists band about 2,400 wood ducks.
“We’re the only state to meet or exceed our wood duck banding quota every year,” said Brunjes.
Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida are the states that have an early wood duck season. The season started in 1981.
“Other states in the Mississippi and Central flyways have early teal only seasons,” said Brunjes.
During the Kentucky September teal season, hunters are most likely to encounter the early migrating blue-winged teal while hunting on big rivers in far western Kentucky.
23 – The first day of fall is September 23.
The late summer forecast is for continued seasonal weather (that means generally hot).
The AccuWeather 45-day forecast is calling for below normal daytime highs and above normal night time lows in August, and generally above normal daytime highs and above normal night time lows for the first half of September.
65 – Members of the Baby Boomer Generation who were born in August or September of 1950 will reach 65 years of age, and therefore qualify for a deeply-discounted Senior License.
Go to any license vendor on your birthday, show them your driver’s license, hand over $5, and you’ll get licenses and permits with a face value of at least $165.
The Senior License includes: combination fishing/hunting license ($30), trout permit ($10), statewide deer permit ($35), additional deer permits ($15 each, with unlimited antlerless deer harvest in the Zone 1 counties), spring turkey ($30), fall turkey ($30), and migratory bird ($15).
For more details on these early hunting seasons, including bag limits and other regulations, visit the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources website at: fw.ky.gov, or call (800) 858-1549.
Art Lander Jr. is outdoors editor for KyForward. He is a native Kentuckian, a graduate of Western Kentucky University and a life-long hunter, angler, gardener and nature enthusiast. He has worked as a newspaper columnist, magazine journalist and author and is a former staff writer for Kentucky Afield Magazine, editor of the annual Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide and Kentucky Spring Hunting Guide, and co-writer of the Kentucky Afield Outdoors newspaper column.