State wildlife area · Delaware County

Delaware Wildlife Area

Live · updated Jul 29, 6:51 PM ET

Inside a CWD Disease Surveillance Area. CWD Disease Surveillance Area (2026-27, OAC 1501:31-19-03) covers west-central Ohio: Allen, Hardin, Marion and Wyandot counties in full, plus named townships of Crawford (Bucyrus, Dallas, Holmes, Tod), Delaware (Marlboro, Troy, Oxford), Hancock (Delaware, Madison, Van Buren), Morrow (Westfield) and Union (Claibourne, Jackson). Allen is newly a full-county DSA for 2026-27. Inside the DSA: baiting/feeding deer is banned, high-risk carcass parts may not leave the DSA except under the carcass rules, and deer taken on set sampling dates must be submitted for CWD testing. No SE-Ohio counties are in the current DSA. The county highlight below is county-level; for the five partial counties, only the named townships are in the DSA — confirm the live DSA map with ODNR before hauling a carcass.

Whitetail Deer

Legal light: 5:56 AM – 9:20 PM ET · 30 min before sunrise to 30 min after sunset

2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source

68/100

Whitetail Deer season is closed at this spot today.

GOOD conditions

55°F Right in the comfortable activity band
10 mph wind A steady breeze covers your movement and noise; deer stay on their feet
Wind out of the N Pick a stand that keeps your scent off the bedding and approach
Bright moon Heavy nighttime feeding under a full moon can slow midday movement
Ground Deciduous Forest · 945 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)

Wild Turkey

Legal light: 5:56 AM – 8:50 PM ET · ½ hour before sunrise to sunset (to noon for the season’s first 9 days)

2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source

74/100

Wild Turkey season is closed at this spot today.

GOOD conditions

55°F Right in the comfortable activity band
10 mph (light) Calm, quiet air; gobbles carry and birds relax
Wind out of the N Set up so a called bird approaches without the wind in your face
Clear morning Bluebird calm mornings are classic gobbling weather
Full moon Birds feed at night and fly down late; mornings can start slow
Ground Deciduous Forest · 945 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)

Ducks

Legal light: 5:56 AM – 8:50 PM ET · ½ hour before sunrise to sunset

2026-27 season · waterfowl Zone C · verified 2026-07-27 · source

63/100

Ducks season is closed at this spot today.

FAIR conditions

55°F (warm) Above the comfortable band; activity tails off midday
10 mph wind A good breeze keeps birds flying and makes the decoys look alive
Wind out of the N Set the spread so birds finish into the wind, coming over the guns
Ground Deciduous Forest · 945 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)

Canada Geese

Legal light: 5:56 AM – 8:50 PM ET · ½ hour before sunrise to sunset

2026-27 season · waterfowl Zone C · verified 2026-07-27 · source

63/100

Canada Geese season is closed at this spot today.

FAIR conditions

55°F (warm) Above the comfortable band; activity tails off midday
10 mph wind A good breeze keeps birds flying and makes the decoys look alive
Wind out of the N Set the spread so birds finish into the wind, coming over the guns
Ground Deciduous Forest · 945 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)

Mourning Dove

Legal light: 6:26 AM – 8:50 PM ET · sunrise to sunset

2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source

65/100

Mourning Dove season is closed at this spot today.

GOOD conditions

55°F (cold) A cold snap and the doves are gone south
10 mph wind A light breeze keeps doves trading between fields
Wind out of the N Doves decoy into the wind; set up with it at your back
Fair weather Warm, settled days keep doves working the fields
Ground Deciduous Forest · 945 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)

Squirrel

Legal light: 5:56 AM – 8:50 PM ET · ½ hour before sunrise to sunset

2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source

77/100

Squirrel season is closed at this spot today.

GOOD conditions

55°F Right in the comfortable activity band
10 mph (light) Calm and quiet; you can hear them cutting and spot the shaking limbs
Clear & calm Bright, still mornings; squirrels move and you can spot them
Ground Deciduous Forest · 945 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)

Cottontail Rabbit

Legal light: 6:26 AM – 8:50 PM ET · sunrise to sunset

2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source

59/100

Cottontail Rabbit season is closed at this spot today.

FAIR conditions

55°F (warm) Above the comfortable band; activity tails off midday
10 mph wind A light breeze is fine
Bright day A clear day after a cold night gets rabbits out sunning
Ground Deciduous Forest · 945 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)

Conditions at the pin

Dawn/dusk low

55°F

the cool hunt window the score uses

Daytime high

81°F

today

Wind

10 mph N

plan your scent

Barometer

1014.2 mb

steady · 0 hPa/3h

Moon

100%

full

Sunny

The ground

County herd density

4.24 deer/sq mi

Delaware County took 1,877 deer last season

Habitat

Deciduous Forest

food + cover edge across the tract

Elevation

945 ft

USGS surface elevation

Access: Central Ohio around Delaware Reservoir ~8 mi north of Delaware; ODNR-licensed Corps land. Free public deer hunting.

Where it is

Scout a different spot → All Ohio land How this score works

Public-land data: ODNR Find-a-Property (verified 2026-07-27). Conditions from the NWS, USGS and NLCD, recomputed each rebuild.