Friday, August 14, 2009
Eyeing the openers
Virginia's fall hunting season kicks off in early September.
Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.
mark.taylor
@roanoke.com
981-3395
Mark Taylor
Outdoors coverage
- Notebook: Outer Banks beach-driving plan kicks up sand
- Outdoors commentary: Many Sunday hunting cons
- Winter tourneys invite fishermen out in the cold
- Visit our Outdoors page
The Wild Life blog
While the most popular portion of Virginia's fall hunting season remains a couple of months distant, things are about to get rolling for the traditional early seasons.
Seasons for doves, resident Canada geese and squirrels all open in early September.
Even deer hunters can get warmed up with early opportunities during special antlerless-only archery hunts in urban archery areas and a handful of deer-rich counties in Northern Virginia.
Whatever their quarry, hunters who get out early can expect decent action.
Resident Canada goose
Season dates: Sept. 1-25.
Bag limit: 10 daily; 20 in possession.
Hunting hours: 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset Sept. 1 -19; 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset Sept. 21-25.
Licenses required: Hunting license; Federal and State waterfowl stamps; HIP registration.
Statistics from Virginia's early Canada goose season in September might suggest that the hunting is getting worse. After all, a decade ago the population of resident geese was estimated at about 260,000 birds, while today it's in the neighborhood of 140,000.
Despite the drop in population, a desired goal accomplished with liberal hunting regulations, hunting still remains good.
In fact, the estimated kill of 17,500 during last year's September season was an all-time high.
"The numbers are coming down," said Gary Costanzo, who oversees the resident goose management program. "But we've still got a lot of geese."
Action should be good again this September, Costanzo said.
"Because of the cool weather nesting was delayed about a week," Costanzo said. "But from what we're seeing there wasn't much impact.
"Production was about average."
So the geese will be there. But how hard will they be to locate?
"Right around that time they're really moving," Costanzo said of the early season. "It kind of depends on what the farmers in each location are doing."
A cornfield that provided awesome action last year on opening day might not be worth a lick this year if it hasn't yet been cut. So hunters also need to look ahead to find out when farmers plan to do their cutting.
Mourning dove
Season dates: Sept. 5-26; Oct. 7 - Nov. 7; Dec. 25 - Jan. 9.
Bag limit: 15 doves per day; 30 in possession.
Hunting hours: Noon to sunset during first segment; 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset other segments.
Licenses required: Hunting license; HIP registration.
While the celebratory opening day dove hunt doesn't draw the numbers it once did, it remains an important and popular tradition for many Virginia hunters.
Virginia has in the neighborhood of 25,000 dove hunters, according to Costanzo, the migratory bird program manager for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
For many of those, the first few days of the season will get most of their attention.
They should expect decent action this year, particularly at hunting areas that are specifically managed for doves.
Costanzo said the state's dove population is strong, even though the spring was cool and damp, and nesting may have been delayed slightly.
"But we didn't have any serious wind storms," Costanzo said of the kind of weather event that can be particularly rough on dove reproduction.
Dove hunters will feel the effects of the generally wet weather over the summer.
Those who planted plots specifically for doves should have great action, especially early on. That's due in part to the likelihood that doves will be concentrated on those areas because many fields of still-lush corn will still be standing.
"Once some corn gets cut those birds will disperse," Costanzo said.
Squirrel
Season dates: Sept. 5 - Jan. 30.
Bag limit: Six squirrels per day.
Hunting hours: 30 minutes prior to sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
Licenses required: Hunting license; national forest permit when applicable; special archery, crossbow or muzzleloader license when applicable.
Two key factors will shape the success of squirrel hunters this fall: last fall's mast crop and this fall's mast crop.
Squirrel populations typically boom following a good mast crop because the animals that enter the spring breeding season in better physical condition produce more and healthier young.
Mast distribution can also affect the hunting immediately, because hunters who find good food supplies will likely find plenty of squirrels.
The crop was decent last year, so that should bode well for squirrel populations.
Hunters who think back to areas that had the best crops of acorns and hickory nuts last fall will find the highest concentrations of squirrels this fall.
This year's mast crop also appears to be solid.
Hickory trees, a favorite early-season haunt for squirrels, appear to be loaded in many areas.
The upcoming season also features an expanded hunting opportunity, something not seen too often in the squirrel arena.
Fox squirrels are now fair game in Albemarle, Bedford, Franklin, Green, Patrick and Prince William counties. The expansion comes after biologists determined that the population had expanded sufficiently to allow hunting.
Deer (early and urban archery)
Season dates: Sept. 5 - Oct. 2.
Special regulation: Anterless deer only.
Hunting hours: 30 minutes prior to sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
Licenses required: Hunting license; big game or bonus tags; special archery or crossbow license.
Although Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties offer an early archery deer season throughout the counties, the early opportunity for hunters in Western Virginia centers on localities that offer special urban archery seasons.
Among the participants are Lynchburg, Martinsville, Radford, Altavista, Amherst, Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Pulaski, Rocky Mount, Saltville and Tazewell.
Specific rules and restrictions regarding the seasons vary by location. Details are available at huntfishva.com/hunting/urban-archery.
