MIKE BRAUN Hunting starts Wed.

Wednesday is opening day of hunting season in Ohio, and the first species in the cross hairs will be squirrel, mourning dove and many types of migratory waterfowl.
Pennsylvania hunters will also get the chance to step out with their firearms Wednesday as migratory game bird seasons open in the Keystone State.
Hunters going after Ohio's squirrel starting Wednesday will get the opportunity to take as many as six squirrels each day.
An abundance of squirrels
According to Dan Kramer, wildlife management supervisor for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, Ohio's squirrel season will offer an abundance of fox and gray squirrels and ample hunting opportunities across the state.
This initial state hunting season is also a great time to get out in the woods and scout for the upcoming deer and fall wild turkey hunting seasons, Kramer said.
Legal hunting hours for Ohio squirrel are a half-hour before sunrise to sunset daily. The season closes Jan. 31 and also will be closed during the one-week statewide deer gun season Nov. 29-Dec. 5 and on the following areas during the Special Area Primitive Deer Season, Oct. 25-30: Salt Fork State Wildlife Area, Shawnee State Forest and Wildcat Hollow.
According to recent DOW survey, more than 130,000 hunters indicated they hunted squirrels in the 2002-03 hunting season.
To gauge hunter interest and participation, a select group of hunters will receive a mail survey this year to help collect squirrel harvest data, the division said.
When doves fly
Ohio's dove hunting season -- a split season --runs Wednesday through Oct. 17 and Dec. 21 through Jan. 2, 2005, with a daily limit of 15 birds and possession limit of 30 birds. There will be controlled dove hunts at Delaware, Fallsville, Spring Valley, Rush Run and Pickerel Creek state wildlife areas.
The DOW urged hunters to report any banded mourning doves they take during this season. The reports will be part of a 26-state, three-year study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The study hopes to determined harvest rates and survival rates, and help refine banding program activities.
Hunters who harvest a banded mourning dove should call (800) 327-BAND (2263) and report the band number and location of harvest. Harvested banded birds can also be reported by visiting www.pwrc.usgs.gov and clicking on the "bird banding lab" link.
Hunting for Canada geese will run Wednesday through Sept. 15 by virtue of the special early season. There will be a daily limit of five birds and possession limit of 10 birds after the first day. However, at the Crane Creek/Ottawa, Mosquito Creek and Killdeer Plains mandatory reporting zones, the daily bag limit is two.
Early teal season
Hunters looking to take part in the early teal hunting season have from Wednesday through Sept. 9 and need to follow a daily bag limit of four birds and possession limit of eight after the first day.
If waterfowling is your interest, then you need to remember to have a valid hunting license as well as a state wetlands habitat stamp endorsement, a federal duck stamp. A new Harvest Information Program certification is also required for those hunting migratory game birds.
Other seasons and bag limits include:
Rails and moorhens, Sora rails, Virginia rails and moorhens: Wednesday through Nov. 9, with a daily limit of 25 rails.
Snipe: Wednesday through Nov. 28 and Dec. 6 - 25, with a daily bag limit of eight.
Woodcock: Oct. 15 through Nov. 28, with a daily bag limit of three birds and a possession limit of six birds.
Hunters are reminded that Ohio's hunting hours for rails, moorhens, snipe, woodcock, teal, doves, and Canada geese are sunrise to sunset. If you are hunting on the state's wildlife area, special hours will be posted.
Pennsylvania hunting seasons
Pennsylvania hunters need to wait a little longer than another month before that state's hunting seasons get started in earnest.
Until then, migratory game birds are the only species available.
There will be a triple-split season for dove hunters in the Keystone State. The first dove hunting season (Wednesday-Oct.5) will have a starting time of noon through sunset daily. That changes with the second and third splits -- Oct. 23-Nov. 20 and Dec. 27-Jan. 1 -- when hunting hours shift to a half-hour before sunrise until sunset.
The bag limit is the same in all three seasons -- 12 daily with a possession limit of 24 after opening day.
Other Pennsylvania seasons and their bag and possession limit include:
Early statewide season for resident Canada geese, Wednesday through Sept. 25. Statewide bag limits have increased to eight daily and 16 in possession, the maximum allowed under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service frameworks.
The Pymatuning Zone remains closed during the early season, as well as the controlled hunting areas at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lebanon-Lancaster counties and the Pymatuning Wildlife Management Area in Crawford County.
Pennsylvania's woodcock season is Oct. 16-Nov. 13. The daily limit of three birds and six in possession after opening day remains unchanged for the 2004 woodcock season.
Virginia and sora rails: Wednesday-Nov. 9 with the daily and possession limits at 25 in the aggregate. The season for king rail is closed.
Moorhen and gallinules: Wednesday-Nov. 9. The daily limit is 15, and possession limit is 30.
Common snipe: Oct. 16 to Nov. 20. The daily limit is 8, and possession limit is 16.
Special Youth Waterfowl Day, Sept. 25. open to holders of junior licenses age 12-15. Youth must be accompanied by an adult, who may assist the youth in calling, duck ID and other aspects of the hunt. Youths may harvest ducks, mergansers, coots and moorhens. SInce the Youth Waterfowl Day and the early Canada goose season overlap this year, youths and adults accompanying them may harvest Canada geese. Regular season bag limits and other restrictions apply.
Migratory game bird hunters, including those afield for doves and woodcock, must obtain and carry a migratory game bird license ($3 for residents, $6 for nonresidents), as well as a general hunting, combination or lifetime license. All waterfowl hunters age 16 and older also must possess a federal migratory game bird and conservation (duck) stamp.
braun@vindy.com