by John Jefferson
Many outdoorsmen and women consider September 1 the start of a new year.
But it won’t be listed on the calendar with other secular and religious holidays like the 1st of January.
September 1st is the start of New Hunting Seasons! It’s opening day in the Texas North and Central Dove Zones. A large number of Texas’ 300,000 dove hunters will be out in the field then to start this new year off right by hunting. Estimates indicate the annual economic impact to Texas is $316 million!
The South Zone won’t open until September 14, although Special White-winged Dove Days are September 2-4 and 9-11. The dove bag limit in most of Texas is fifteen doves/day in the aggregate (all species combined), only two of which may be white-tipped doves (only two mourning doves allowed during Dove Days). Possession limit is three times the daily bag limit.
Shooting hours are from half an hour before sunrise to sunset — except during the Dove Days, when they begin at noon and end at sunset.
Some counties have different seasons, so check the TPWD Outdoor Annual. That could save you money by avoiding a violation fine. And remember that new licenses are required September 1 except those year-to-date ones. New licenses go on sale August 15.
And it looks like it’s going to be bang-up year for dove hunters! Pun intended. After the spring and summer “coo counts” by TPWD and other groups, TPWD’s Dove Program Leader, Owen Fitzsimmons, published a detailed report.
From it, the good news is that Texas hunters can anticipate an estimated mourning dove population of 28.3 million birds. That’s a 44% increase over last season (3% above the long-term average)! Couple that with 11.7 million white-wings – a 20% estimated increase over last season (19% over the long-term average} – and you’d better recount how many shotshells you have on hand. You may need more.
And where are these doves? Well, they’re all over Texas. But some regions have more than others. Generally speaking, whitewings seem to prefer large trees for roosting. That keeps them in urban areas. Most fly out to nearby fields to feed. One of my favorite hunts was several miles from Uvalde. We didn’t see a bird until about 8:30 a.m. Then they came. Hundreds of them from those majestic oaks in Uvalde.
Hunting is illegal in cities, however.
Mourning doves, on the other hand, are rural birds — plentiful throughout the state. Both species are likely found near sources of food and water – especially water, this year! But beware; it almost always rains right before September 1, scattering the doves!
Most hunters prefer hunting open fields of grain – milo, corn, sesame, even wheat and sunflowers that have gone to seed which may still be on the ground. Baiting is illegal, so don’t add any yourself!
The densest mourning dove populations are in the “Shortgrass Prairie” and “Oaks and Prairie” regions (see map), but whitewings are also abundant in the Tamaulipan Brushlands.
JJ
