Dove season in Arizona always starts on 1 September. Dove hunters are welcomed. This year in 2016, the limit was 15 Mourning doves and White Wing doves combined. For years the limit was 10. There is no limit on Rock Doves (pigeons) and Collared doves, which are both invasive species.
I had invited a young hunting partner and another friend out to hunt with me, but for various reasons, they could not make opening day.
The day started out slow. A few doves were flying from roosts in the citrus groves to nearby fields. I started hunting about 06:25. I had four doves by 08:00. The Browning Double Auto in the picture is one of my favorite hunting shotguns.
At 08:00, the flight pattern reversed. There was considerable cloud cover, and a good breeze was coming from the Southeast. The doves flew at lower levels to fight the wind. By 09:00, I had limited out and had a bonus of two Rock doves and four Collared doves.
Dove shooting in Yuma is often warm. The temperatures started at 86, and went up from there. The clouds and breeze kept the day comfortable on opening morning. A local restaurant, Chretin's will clean and cook your doves for you if you like. I know others will do so, but do not advertise.
Brownie's, another longtime local eatery, also openly welcomes dove hunters.
Dove season is celebrated in Yuma. The city has a bill board up welcoming dove hunters.
A few years ago, Yuma, as part of its fast growing structure, was incorporating large areas that had been under county jurisdiction. As a concerned citizen, I attended one of the meetings where the city was explaining and pushing for the incorporation.
I mentioned that large areas of prime dove hunting territory would be banned from hunting by the incorporation. The spokesman seemed shocked, and unbelieving. I invited him to check it out, and at minimum, to exempt bird hunting from those areas, as the city could clearly do.
The incorporation went forward, but included was the exemption for dove hunting. There is a weary old saying that the people who make the rules are those that show up. I have seen it happen in Yuma.
A local entrepreneur has organized a gun show this year for the first dove season weekend. I did not attend, but it was a smart move.
The promotion of Yuma as a destination for dove hunters does not seem to reduce the dove populations. They rise and fall with other factors. Hunting is a minor part, overall. It means more competition, but it encourages hunters from California to stay involved. California gun owners need all the help they can get.
90 percent of all doves die from year to year. The world would drown in doves if they did not. Dove hunting only means that humans are able to share in the harvest taken by hawks, snakes, owls, cats, coyotes, and just about all the predators big enough to take a dove. Even so, predation only accounts for a small percentage of dove mortality. From clemson.edu:
The life span of the dove is generally between 1 and 3 years; however, most doves seldom live more than 1 year. Predation accounts for only a small percentage of doves lost. Disease and starvation may take a high toll in certain areas and under certain conditions.If you are looking for a place to hunt does, come to Yuma. The opening day is always 1 September. Just don't ask for the location of my favorite dove hunting spot.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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Explain to me why we have an Arizona Game and Fish department and are required to buy a federal stamp to dove hunt. I hear some states are terminating the need for a hunting and fishing license as living off the land is considered a natural right. Neither the state or the federal government invented wild life for feeding your self as you cross this country. I think banding birds is cruel they did nothing and get an Oregon boot. the government wants to track every body including birds. The federal stamp is tied to back ground checks. You can hunt doves with a slingshot or a box trap if you need to eat. but take a dove without the stamp and you could go to jail or pay a fine. B/S I refuse to tolerate.
ReplyDeleteI've been a part of a banding program before. Nothing cruel about it!! It helps "track" birds, and helps when figuring out limits. This helps maintain populations of birds. I lived in Arizona all my life until I recently moved to New Mexico, and I have seen an increase in birds since moving. Arizona is a prime example of when hunters hammer the same birds over and over again, how populations do change. Also, the population quotes shown in the blog are correct...most birds die within their first year, but the number of birds has fallen by about half since the 50's but have remained about that same number every year since then. Habitat destruction and a flu like illness have contributed the most to the decline in numbers. It's up to every state fish and game department to help keep those numbers of birds up by regulation.
ReplyDeleteI get the whole live of the land idea, but seriously, how many hunters do you know who live off the land any more? Also, how many people do you know who are traveling across the country living off the land as you go? I have had lots of great times hunting!! But then I have had several encounters with drunk hunters who are over limiting and shooting every darn thing in sight so if paying for a little game and fish law enforcement helps keep those idiots away then I would be happy to pay twice the amount I do for a license.
I've been a part of a banding program before. Nothing cruel about it!! It helps "track" birds, and helps when figuring out limits. This helps maintain populations of birds. I lived in Arizona all my life until I recently moved to New Mexico, and I have seen an increase in birds since moving. Arizona is a prime example of when hunters hammer the same birds over and over again, how populations do change. Also, the population quotes shown in the blog are correct...most birds die within their first year, but the number of birds has fallen by about half since the 50's but have remained about that same number every year since then. Habitat destruction and a flu like illness have contributed the most to the decline in numbers. It's up to every state fish and game department to help keep those numbers of birds up by regulation.
ReplyDeleteI get the whole live of the land idea, but seriously, how many hunters do you know who live off the land any more? Also, how many people do you know who are traveling across the country living off the land as you go? I have had lots of great times hunting!! But then I have had several encounters with drunk hunters who are over limiting and shooting every darn thing in sight so if paying for a little game and fish law enforcement helps keep those idiots away then I would be happy to pay twice the amount I do for a license.