Dove field conditions spotty, pre-season scouting a must

Those who plan to hunt on conservation areas with specially managed dove fields need to do their homework.

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JEFFERSON CITY–Missouri will have plenty of doves again this year, but hunters will find widely varying conditions at conservation areas on opening day.

Missouri’s dove season runs from Sept. 1 through Nov. 9 again this year. Bag limits are more generous, however, 15 daily and 30 in possession, up from 12 and 24 last year.

Mourning doves, which account for more than 90 percent of Missouri’s harvest, are prolific breeders. Some pairs begin nesting in March, and they can raise as many as six clutches of two chicks each by early fall. This tremendous reproductive capacity makes doves North America’s number-one game bird.

In spite of this, statistics from the Missouri Department of Conservation show that nearly half of all dove hunters go home from hunting trips with one dove or none at all. That is partly due to the fact doves are challenging targets. The average hunter spends between five and six shotgun shells for each dove taken. Just as important, however, is the fact that many dove hunters do not do their homework.

“The number of doves hardly ever limits hunting success,” said Resource Scientist John Schulz, the Conservation Department’s dove expert. “The trouble is, doves are never uniformly distributed over the landscape. Hunters who take time to figure out ahead of time where doves are feeding, watering and resting do extremely well. The rest find themselves in largely dove-free zones.”

The Conservation Department plants sunflowers, wheat, millet and other crops on more than 100 conservation areas statewide to provide food for doves and other wildlife. Doves swarm those fields when the crops ripen, creating excellent hunting opportunities.

The agency makes finding dove fields easy, listing them in a database at mdc.mo.gov/hunt/gamebird/. Users can sort the list by area name, by county or by region.

However, knowing that an area has managed dove fields is no guarantee of good hunting. Even in the best years, crops grow better on some areas than others. This year, as last year, persistent rain delayed crop planting on many conservation areas. Crops planted late may not be ready for birds by Sept. 1.

“Hunters are going to find a wide range of conditions on our dove fields again this year,” said Wildlife Management Chief Mike Schroer. “If you see a sunflower field on a map, you better look at the field before hunting season, or you could be disappointed.”

Schulz asked hunters to report any doves they may shoot that have leg bands. This can be done by calling 800-327-2263, or online at reportband.gov/. Regardless of the reporting method, hunters provide the band number, and where and date the bird was killed.

“The better we understand mourning doves’ biology and population dynamics, the better job we can do managing them,” said Schulz. “The hunter’s role is an important one.”

Missouri residents ages 16 through 64 must buy a Small Game Hunting Permit to pursue doves. All dove hunters 16 and older must have a Missouri Migratory Bird Hunting Permit for dove hunting.

Full details of dove hunting regulations are found in the 2009 Migratory Bird Hunting Digest, available wherever hunting permits are sold or online at mdc.mo.gov/8927.

Spent shotgun shells are litter. Hunters who leave behind empty shells risk getting citations for littering.

Hunters must keep birds they kill separate and identifiable from those of other hunters. Having two or more hunters put their doves into one cooler or other container could violate this requirement unless they use individually identified bags or other means to keep the birds separate.

 

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