Mourning dove season in South Dakota typically runs from Sept 1 through mid-October. Usually, after the first major frost in late Sept or early Oct. few doves are still around, as the locals seem to move on by then. Other hunting seasons open up in very late Sept or Oct such as waterfowl and then pheasant, so few people think of doves much after early October.

I was picking "squirrel corn" by hand yesterday up in my organic farmer's friend's field where he leaves be a few rows by a certain length for our little gig. I thought I saw a few doves kick out of some more "open" rows he had and I know for sure I saw about 4 different groups of doves on the side of the gravel and then county highway driving home towards dusk. It's not the first time I've seen December doves but probably this was the most I've seen on any one day. It makes me wonder if these are migrants from the far northern edges of mourning dove range in North American hat have finally got down to around here. I don't know how far into prairie Canada doves can be found during the warm months. Doves are small seed eaters, I think a regular corn kernel would choke them trying to get it down their throats to the gizzard from their crops (sp?) holding area that birds have when they shallow something. Most small seed plant heads are now buried in snow around here. So, little "doggie" Dec doves, time to get on moving south while you can (like today!) because the season isn't going to get any better for your survival over the coming weeks and months...

Doves love corn.

Full kernels or crack corn?

We have a late Dec, early Jan season down here. Used to have some good hunts. Dont hardly see a dove in winter anymore

Full kernels. When I lived in the midwest farmers would plant fields of corn just to hunt dove over. They'd harvest them just before dove season, and "accidentally" spill a lot.

Interesting. Those farmers must have been making some sort of coin off of hunters to do that sort of thing. Nothing like that around here except back 40+ years ago out east of of a couple of the Missouri River reservoirs, landowners might "spill" corn to attract migrating Canada geese for pay hunters that would come out there. I think that practice (goose "camps" along the Missouri reservoirs) has pretty much died out given that so many resident honkers now grow up in eastern South Dakota.

As for doves around here, even if the corn was ready to combine by early-to-later September, not a chance anyone if going to intentionally drop grain on the ground to hunt those things...

I've seen quite a few groups up my way. The season was from Sep.1 until Nov.9 this year.

Well, there you go, they must have expanded the season over time. Maybe an unintended good thing about Global Warming, a longer South Dakota dove season

We have doves here all Winter in big numbers. Some of the flocks have well over 100 doves in them. In the Winter, they eat mostly whole corn and ragweed seeds. Early season their crops are mostly full of ragweed. Late season, their crops are mostly full of corn. They probably eat more corn from bait piles in my area than any other bird. Tufted Titmice, Juncos, Blue Jays, Downy Woodpeckers and Flickers eat a lot of corn too.

Keith

What do you use bait piles for in Ohio? That's another foreign concept here.

I do not see any morning doves in the country here. There may be some that winter in town. The collared doves winter in town. Really they stay in town all year. You don't see them much in the country.

People use bait piles and feeders to attract deer for hunting. The flatter parts of Ohio are mostly covered in corn and soybeans. Deer in those parts of the state primarily eat corn from mid-Summer through the Winter.

Corn is cheap here compared to most of the country.

Keith

I just went through the 2022 SD Hunting and Trapping Handbook and its doesn't say anything, scanning pages, about baiting deer. I guess we could probably do bait piles/feeders as well, although its never really crossed my mind. I don't think I've ever seen a deer feeder in this state. Maybe I missed something in the book...

A friend of mine reminded me tonight that perhaps the doves we've been seeing in December are non-native Eurasian collared doves and not mourning doves. I forgot about those exotics suckers. Maybe they an take the cold better.

Y’all must still have them because we have none down here. Last year we were loaded and I’d probably shot two cases by now. This year it’s looking like I’ll have plenty of shells for next year. We went and checked fields today and high field had 5, lol. We have cold weather coming this weekend, hopefully birds show up.

Still noticing some here.

I have a half dozen hanging around my place the past week.

I'd be curious if you can see any that have that black "band" on the neck-shoulder area.

Yes Eurasian Collared Dove. I have a few at my bird feeder every winter. Shot a few during dove season. Bigger breast . Not native. But I love dove hunting and the meat on a grill.

If theyre still around next couple days Ill definitely pay attention. They took me by surprise-I have only seen a few within the mile I live on in early fall bombin the gravel road here and there. Theyre much tamer now it seems and were going tree to tree amongst each other.