For the love of dove

Opening day for agile gamebirds signals autumn’s arrival

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BRYAN HENDRICKS
The swift appearance of a dove flock can confuse and unnerve inexperienced shooters. Shoot the lead bird first and work your way backwards.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BRYAN HENDRICKS The swift appearance of a dove flock can confuse and unnerve inexperienced shooters. Shoot the lead bird first and work your way backwards.

They come at sunrise, at first as singles and then as pairs.

From far away you can hear their reedy whistles as their powerful wingbeats force air out of their throats. Their sleek profiles and backswept wingbeats suggest they are built for speed. They dart and roll, and they can dive 20 feet or more in a blink at the first sign of trouble.

The first shotgun report thunders at the edge of a sunflower field. Dove season has begun.

In Arkansas, a sportsman's summer begins the day after spring turkey season closes, and fall begins the first Saturday of September, opening day of dove season. This year it's Sept. 6. Many hunters mark this day on their calendar, not only because they look forward to dove hunting, but because it is the gateway to the shooting sports seasons. Dove season this year is in two segments, running Sept. 6-Oct. 25, and from Dec. 20-Jan. 8, 2015.

The Canada goose season starts earlier -- Sept. 1 -- but dove season is the keystone event that brings together family and friends together for a day of high-volume shotgun shooting, said Luke Naylor, migratory bird biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. It's a day of trash talk and laughter, and rowdy congratulations for exceptional shots. A sumptuous field barbecue often follows.

"It's comonly referred to as the kickoff for fall, and for good reason," Naylor said. "It's so important to see so many families get together, the cookouts associated with it and people just getting together. It's cool to see those traditions persist year after year."

According to the latest United States Fish and Wildlife Service Mourning Dove Population Status, the mourning dove is one of North America's most abundant bird species. Although dove populations are generally declining, doves are hunted in most states except for Michigan and New England.

We also have the Eurasian collared dove, an exotic species that is larger than the mourning dove. They are prolific breeders that easily replace the number lost to hunting, most of which occurs on the first two days of the season. Hunting pressure falls off dramatically after opening weekend, even though the hunting can be very good all season.

"Doves often leave with the first couple of cold fronts in November, but we keep getting birds during the season," Naylor said. "No matter where you go, hunters always say that a cold front pushed their birds out. Well, they went somewhere. They continue filtering through all season long. There's a large number of hunters in Arkansas that just love late season hunting."

In terms of participation, dove season is a significant piece of America's hunting culture. According to the USFWS dove population status, about 830,000 hunters pursued doves in 2011-12 and killed about 14.5 million birds. They spent about 2.2 million days afield, which amounts roughly to three days of hunting per person. That roughly translates to opening weekend. Hunters in the Central Management Unit, which includes Arkansas, killed 44 percent of the doves taken in that period.

The relatively small number of doves that hunters kill have little effect on the overall population, Naylor said, but he said that hunting is an important research tool. Hunters reporting banded doves that they kill helps biologists track dove movements and ages. It's a more valuable and accurate reporting tool than other sampling methods.

"The hunting component has actually grown in importance," Naylor said. "We need that information from harvested banded birds to track that population in coming years."

Hunters may kill no more than 15 mourning doves per day, but there is no limit on Eurasian collared doves. They are remarkably larger than mourning doves. They are lighter in color, and they have squared tail. A mourning dove has a pointed tail.

Hunters may possess no more than 45 doves. If another hunter gives you his doves, he must also give you written and signed information stating the number of birds being transferred, the species, the date the birds were killed and his name, address and hunting license number. Eurasian collared doves must remain fully feathered while in the field and during transport.

To hunt doves in Arkansas, hunters age 16 and older must have an Arkansas hunting license and register in the Harvest Information Permit (HIP). HIP registration is free, and it will be noted on your license. You can only use shotguns to hunt doves, and shotguns must be capable of holding no more than three shells.

Regulations about hunting over bait are complex. Information is available online at http://www.agfc.com/hunting/Pages/HuntingRegulationsDove.

Sports on 08/17/2014

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