Delaware’s dove, resident Canada goose and teal seasons open in September

Delaware hunters started honing their wing shooting skills Sept. 1 with the opening of the mourning dove and resident Canada goose seasons. On Saturday, Sept. 10, hunters can start adding teal to their bag. The state Division of Fish and Wildlife offers many early season hunting opportunities on its wildlife areas throughout the state. In some locations, hunting hours may be more restrictive due to other activities taking place on the wildlife areas.

In Sussex County, dove hunting on managed fields will be available on the Assawoman and Nanticoke wildlife areas. At Assawoman, permits started to be issued from the check station at noon Sept. 4  with hunting hours from 1 to 6 p.m. Dove fields are located on the Muddy Neck portion of the Short Tract. Hunting on this area will be on Saturdays only during the month of September. Hunters will be hunting over sunflowers in 2011. Dove hunting will be allowed on other unmanaged areas with a permit.

At the Nanticoke Wildife Management Area, dove hunting began Sept. 1. Corn and sunflowers are planted at the George Adams Field and the Dirt Pit Fields. No permits or checkout are required and there are no limits on the number of hunters. Dove hunting is allowed on other unmanaged areas without a permit.

All other wildlife areas in Sussex County are open for dove hunting with no permits required.

No resident goose hunts are planned for Sussex County on state wildlife areas. No resident goose flocks are present on areas accessible for hunting.  Prime Hook State Wildlife Area is open to teal hunting this year. Hunting days are Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. State blinds 1-8 will be open. Permits are free and will be issued on a first come-first served basis from the tag board on Prime Hook State Wildlife Area at Little Neck Road. All federal blinds are closed, and no drawings or checkout will occur. No other Sussex County state wildlife areas fall within the September teal season zones.

September season dates are Doves: Sept. 1 to Oct. 1;  Resident Canada Geese: Sept. 1 to 24; Teal: Sept. 10 to 28.  Nontoxic shot must be used for all dove hunting on state wildlife areas during the month of September.

In addition to a Delaware hunting license, teal, dove and goose hunters will need to have registered with the Federal Harvest Information Program to get a registration number. Hunters can call toll free 1-855-335-4868 or go to www.dnrec.delaware.gov/delhunt to register for an HIP number.

If hunting from a blind that was selected through a lottery, all hunters in the blind are required to have the $20 annual blind permit that can be purchased where hunting licenses are sold. This permit is waived for hunters participating in Division of Fish and Wildlife-designated youth hunting days.

Hunting maps for state wildlife areas are available online at www.fw.delaware.gov or by calling 302-739-9912.

A legislative change that hunters should be aware of this year is that businesses licensed to operate as commercial game preserves may now operate on Sundays. This change only applies to for-profit businesses and not to licensed shooting preserves that release game solely for hunting purposes.

For additional information, hunters should consult the Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide and the Delaware Migratory Game Bird Season Summary. The division would like to note that Sunday, Oct. 2, is not a deer hunting day as listed in the print version of the guide. The division apologizes for any confusion this error may cause. It has been corrected in the online version of the guide that can be viewed at www.fw.delaware.gov.