Dove, teal and early goose seasons open Sunday

Wildlife is all around us, especially here in Wisconsin. It can be a blessing and a curse. We love to watch and hunt deer, but we don’t like it when a deer bounces off the grille of our car or truck, causing thousands in damage.

We love to see butterflies flitting in the garden and honeybees pollinating our flowers, but what about those wasps that love to build nests in the most unexpected places?

Last Friday night, I was getting ready to go to bed because I had a hunter safety class to help with the next day. I heard a soft buzzing noise near the bedroom window. Thinking it was a moth stuck in the louvers of the blind, I walked over and raised the blind with the drawstring.

I gasped, seeing a large wasp nest in the corner of the window. I couldn’t tell for a second whether it was on the inside or outside of the room.

My daughter took a flashlight, looked under the top of the blind, then let out a word that I can’t repeat in a family newspaper. I understood her panic.

I’d left the crank-out window open just enough for the wasps to get in. They’d built a 10-inch-long nest between the glass and the inner screen. The only thing between me and perhaps 70 wasps was a thin layer of metal screen.

After my initial fear passed, I realized this problem had a simple solution. I grabbed a can of wasp spray from the garage, threw a towel down over some books and papers near the base of the window and gave the nest a 20-second dousing. The dead wasps began to fall onto the inner sill like tiny hailstones.

We all like to whine and complain about the plight of butterflies, bees or other critters because of pesticides (whether these claims are true or not, just like the continual complaints about Round-Up, which has probably been used for preparing native prairie plots more than any other chemical), but when you face a stinging, buzzing enemy at point-blank range, it’s good to know a $4 can of spray will save the day.

Sorry, folks, we need chemicals and we can’t pretend we don’t. I love butterflies as much as anyone else. All things in moderation.

A good friend of mine invited me to hunt mourning doves in Iowa this weekend, and I’d accept, if the state hadn’t set its five-day non-resident small game license and habitat stamp at $90. Sure, an outdoors writer could write that off as an expense, but I just don’t want to spend that much for a morning of dove hunting.

Even if I did manage to drop a few, how much is that a pound? The best part about a dove? The breasts are dark meat. Mmmmmmm.

On Sunday, both the dove and early teal seasons open in Wisconsin. The state has added a few extra days to the teal season, which continues through Sept. 9. The daily limit is six teal. The mourning dove season continues through Nov. 29. The daily limit is 15 doves.

The early Canada and light goose (snow/blue and Ross’s goose) season also starts Sunday and continues through Sept. 15. The daily limit is five Canadas and 20 light geese.

The youth waterfowl season is Sept. 14-15.

The North Zone (north of Highways 10 and 41) regular duck season is Sept. 28 through Nov. 26. The South Zone has a split season: Sept. 28 through Oct. 6 and Oct. 12 through Dec. 1 (closed Oct. 7-11). The Mississippi River Zone also has a split season: Sept. 28 through Oct. 4 and Oct. 12 through Dec. 3 (closed Oct. 5-11).

The usual six-bird daily limit applies (read the regulations for a breakdown of species limits). One change is that one pintail and two black ducks now may be taken daily.

The Northern Zone goose season is Sept. 16 through Dec. 16. The Southern Zone goose season is split: Sept. 16 through Oct. 6, Oct. 12 through Dec. 1 and Dec. 16 through Jan. 4 (closed Oct. 7-11 and Dec. 2-15). The Mississippi River Zone is open Sept. 28 through Oct. 4 and Oct. 12 through Jan. 4 (closed Oct. 5-11). Daily bag limits are three Canadas, 20 snow/blue geese and Ross’s geese, and one each of brant and white-fronted.

Please note that the early teal season shooting hours are sunrise to sunset (a little more light will make the fast-flying teal easier to identify from the other ducks that aren’t legal game during this time), while the dove, early goose, youth waterfowl and regular duck and goose seasons are all one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

Federal and state waterfowl stamps are required to hunt ducks and geese, but not doves. HIP certification (available free online or at license vendors) is required for ducks, geese, doves and other migratory birds.

Non-toxic shot is required for waterfowl hunting and shotguns must be plugged to only hold three shells.

To read this year’s full waterfowl hunting regulations, visit dnr.wi.gov/topic/hunt/documents/WaterfowlRegulations.pdf.

Ross Bielema is a freelance writer from New London and owner of Wolf River Concealed Carry LLC. Contact him at Ross@wolfriverccw.com.