Biologists say popular game birds are holding their own despite drought
The 2011 dove season opens Sept. 1 across most of Texas, and with it comes one of wingshooting's greatest challenges.
Mourning doves are small in comparison to a hawk but big compared to a wren. They only weigh about 4-6 ounces but have a ton of horsepower under the hood.
Doves can scoot along at speeds in excess of 50 mph on powerful wing beats that sometimes create a peculiar whistling noise occasionally heard before the bird is ever seen.
Using a scattergun to hit a feathered target no bigger than a dinner plate that is zipping along on a steady flight path is challenge in itself. The degree of difficulty increases significantly when a mourning dove turns acrobat -- darting, diving and dipping so erratically that even a crackerjack shotgunner might have to relearn a few shooting lessons forgotten since last fall.
The annual dove season opener in Texas is a long awaited event steeped in rich tradition dating back for decades. At one time, estimates showed there were more than 400,000 dove hunters in this state.
The most recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service figures show Texas dove hunter numbers declined to about 250,000 in 2010. Still, they managed to kill a staggering 4.7 million mourning doves and about 1.43 million white-winged doves.
Texas accounted for more than half the total harvest of mourning doves in the 13-state Central Management Unit last year, and more than three times that of California, the second leading dove hunting state in terms of hunter numbers and birds harvested.
Several factors mesh to make Texas the nation's premier dove hunting state.
About 50 million of the 350 million mourning doves in North America migrate through Texas each fall en route to Mexico and Central America. The state also has a breeding population of about 44 million mourning doves. Plus there are about 8 million white-winged doves that reside around urban areas alone.
Texas also is a sprawling state with abundant dove hunting opportunities that are relatively inexpensive in comparison to other species. Private land day hunts are available through reputable outfitters in south, central, north and west Texas for around $100 per gun.
According to Cory Mason, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department's migratory shore and upland game bird program leader, some of the best counties for dove hunting include Coleman, Tom Greene, Brown Nolan, Uvalde, Media, Frio, Atacosa, Duval, Hidalgo and Bexar.
"Those are the traditional hotspots, mainly because they produce a lot of food in those counties," said Mason. "Some of the food is cultivated and some is natural. Those counties just have what doves need."
Another good option is the TPWD's public dove hunting program. The department has about 39,000 acres totaling 111 different fields under lease from private landowners this year.
The total is down slightly compared to the 50,000 acres under lease last year, according to Kelly Edmiston, a TPWD public hunting program specialist. Edmiston said that most of the dove fields are located in close proximity to metropolitan areas like Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Austin-San Antonio.
Hunters can legally access the dove fields, along with more than 1 million other acres of public hunting land, so long as they have a Annual Public Hunting Permit. The permits cost $48 and will be available Aug. 15 when new hunting/fishing licenses go on sale at regional wildlife offices and more than 1,500 vendors statewide.
As popular as dove hunting is in Texas, plenty of hunters are probably wondering how the drought might impact dove populations and hunter success rates when the season gets under way in a few weeks.
To find out, I fished for input from TPWD wildlife biologists representing some the state's top dove hunting regions. Here is what they had to say:
Central Texas
"Central Texas is parched, and whatever water we have is quickly drying," Mason said. "There are places with decent native food production and places with very little. Cultivated crops are down, and unless irrigated, most are poor.
"As for numbers of birds, adult survival should be average and production, specifically juvenile survival, does not appear to be as low as we anticipated. We are seeing decent numbers of juveniles, and going through this summer's banding data we are finding reasonable percentages for mourning and white-winged dove.
"I think that a few things help offset (not negate) the effects of drought on dove vs. other game birds. These include the volume of dove we have, crop milk being provided to juveniles to get them jump started, and dove will renest multiple times so the law of averages comes in to play.
"I have talked to several outfitters and most are seeing good numbers of birds but joke that we will probably finally get rain on Aug. 31. Hunting near water sources should be very successful this season. Additionally, an ever expanding population of white-winged dove will help fill the hunter's bag."
South Texas
"Good mourning dove production in 2010 along with much better habitat conditions in the northern Central Flyway means that numbers of mourning doves should be good, even if local production is lower than normal," said South Texas district leader David Veale of Pleasanton. "South Texas holds more migratory birds than other parts of the state and is not as dependent on local young birds. The very dry conditions means doves will be concentrated on those areas with suitable food and water."
Veale added that although native food sources will likely be lacking, agricultural crops of milo, corn and sunflowers will likely be available to supplement native feeds and provide fair hunting grounds.
"The number and size of water sources have also been greatly reduced due to the drought," he said. "Many tanks are dry and more will be by dove season without substantial rain."
Veale said wildlife biologist Eric Garza of Hebronville recommends letting small pilas overflow and create a puddle of bird-accessible water, especially if there is a reliable seed source nearby.
"Water sources don't have to be big; they just have to be reliable," Garza said. "If present conditions continue, water availability may make or break your dove hunting season."
Wildllife biologist Ashton Hutchins of Pearsall said the white-wing hunting opportunity in South Texas is outstanding, especially around small towns and cities.
"How close you are to town will decide how good the wing shooting will be for white-wings," Hutchins said. "Great shoots happen when white-wings are coming back into town. If you are hunting solid grain fields close to town or can get on a flyway, your chances are higher."
Panhandle
Wildlife biologists across the Panhandle say dove hunters can expect to see a mixed bag of results this season. Not surprisingly, water, or a lack of it, will be a major factor. Trey Barron of Amarillo is projecting an average season.
"Despite dry conditions, we are still seeing a fair amount of birds," Barron said. "The lack of moisture will limit the seed production away from irrigated cropland, so finding irrigated grain crops and water tanks may be the recipe for success."
In the Lubbock area, wildlife biologist Russell Martin said he is seeing big numbers of mourning doves in Yoakum and Deaf Smith counties. Martin also said Eurasian collared doves are very abundant.
"They are everywhere," Martin said. "Everyone I've talked to says their densities and range have been steadily increasing over the past few years. I haven't spent a lot of time in town during the past month, but I've only seen a handful of white-winged doves around Lubbock."
Wildlife biologist Jim Lionberger is expecting fair results in areas of the southeast Panhandle that were ravaged by wildfires earlier this summer.
"I expect a fair to average year for mourning dove," he said. "However, if current drought conditions persist, dove will congregate around existing water sources, making dove hunting spotty. Wildfires have affected much of the area. We are still waiting for that soaking rainfall to start the burned country on the road to recovery."
Trans-Pecos
Wildlife biologist Jason Wagner of Ft. Stockton says doves in the Trans-Pecos region are holding their own despite the lingering drought.
"Most of the area has gone 10 months without any measureable rainfall," Wagner said. "Although the monsoon season has started and parts of the Trans-Pecos has received some rainfall in the past couple weeks, we are still way behind on our average yearly precipitation. The areas that have received rain have generally only been in small amounts and total less than 2 inches on the year.
"Dove populations are currently pretty strong in the Trans-Pecos. Both mourning and whitewings have had a good hatch. The dove are concentrated around water right now. Water hole hunting come September may be excellent out here, if water can be found. However, with a lack of seed producing forbs, the dove may not stay around too long."
Matt Williams email address is mattwilliams@netdot.com.
Texas Dove Season
North and Central Zones
* Dates: Sept. 1-Oct. 23; Dec. 23-Jan. 8.
* Limit: 15 birds, not more than two white-tipped doves
South Zone
* Dates: Sept. 23-Oct. 30; Dec. 23-Jan.23
* Limit: 15 birds, not more than two white-tipped doves
Special Whitewing Area
* Dates: Sept. 3-4 and Sept. 10-11 (noon to sunset only); Sept. 23-Oct. 30; Dec. 23-Jan. 19
* Limit: See the TPWD's Outdoor Annual for limit explanations.
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