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Texas Migratory Bird Hunting Report No. 5

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Texas --(Ammoland.com)- Weekly migratory bird hunting reports are posted from early September through early February.

North Zone Dove: Grain fields of milo and corn have been the best producer in the Panhandle north of Amarillo. Mourning doves have been best in the afternoon on the edges of fields. Abilene hunters have had fair shoots in sunflowers. Red River hunters near Paris have seen fair shoots in milo, corn and soybeans. Many doves have found water around cattle troughs in the afternoon. Drought conditions have limited the amount of wet tanks and ponds, so any hole with at least a puddle of water have produced. The season runs through Oct. 23. Prospects are fair.

Central Zone Dove: Whitewings continue to dominate San Antonio fields of corn and milo in the afternoon as hunters have shot near-limits around treelines. High-flyers have trickled from South Zone fields near Uvalde. Katy, Hockley and Brookshire fields have been fair at best, and hunter participation has been scarce. Waller hunters saw better shooting this weekend as nearby South Zone fields were hunted, pushing mourning doves north to Central Zone fields. More whitewing showed around Sealy and Columbus over the weekend. Dayton and Beaumont fields have given up half-limits. The season runs through Oct. 23. Prospects are fair to good.

South Zone Dove: Best hunting came from traditional South Texas haunts in the Rio Grande Valley where whitewings have been good in milo, corn and wild sunflowers. Devine, Big Foot, Three Rivers, Fashing and George West enjoyed limit shoots. Hunters along the northern boundaries of the South Zone reported losing most of their birds just before the opener as high winds and rain blew through Wharton and Matagorda county fields, sending the brunt of the whitewing population to other pastures. The opener there was a lackluster one, but birds began trickling back by the end of the weekend. Mourning doves were solid near Palacios, Beasley, Lissie and Eagle Lake. The season runs through Oct. 30. Prospects are fair to good.

Waterfowl Migration: Teal season along the coastal prairies was arguably the best most hunters could remember, if you had ponds brimming with fresh water. Many hunters reported seeing more birds than ever throughout the entire 16-day season. A new wave of bluewings arrived last week which made the last weekend of the season just as fast as opening weekend. The largest concentration of birds were seen in Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda counties. Marsh hunting suffered due to low tides and a hypersaline environment brought on by the drought. The first trickles of specklebellies appeared this week. Teal hunters said they saw noticeably more big ducks like pintails and shovelers during teal season. Regular duck and goose season is set to open Nov. 5.

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Georgia Dove Season Opens Saturday, September 3 2011
Wildlife Management Areas offer prime hunting opportunities.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources

SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. --(Ammoland.com)- Hunters statewide can celebrate the beginning of dove season at noon Saturday, Sept. 3.

Long-awaited opening day is traditionally considered the beginning of the fall hunting season, and with the numerous wildlife management area hunts scheduled, it is the perfect opportunity to introduce children and grandchildren to the sport.

“Georgia has some fantastic public areas for dove hunters. In fact, many WMAs provide fields managed specifically for dove hunting opportunities,” says John W. Bowers, Wildlife Resources Division’s assistant chief of Game Management. “In addition to being the ‘kick-off’ to the fall hunting season, dove hunting is a prime time to introduce family and friends to hunting, as it typically is a fun-filled day.”

Most WMA public dove fields are quota only on opening day. As such, hunters are encouraged to review dove hunting rules and regulations to ensure the availability of the field they plan to visit.

The official 2011-2012 dove seasons are Sept. 3-18, Oct. 8-16 and Nov. 24 – Jan. 7. Shooting hours are noon until sunset on opening day (Sept. 3) of the first season and one-half hour before sunrise to sunset for the remaining two seasons. Sunrise and sunset times for each day are found in the 2011-2012 Georgia Hunting Seasons and Regulations guide or online at www.georgiawildlife.com .

The daily bag limit is 15 doves per hunter. Additionally, there have been some reports of white-winged doves in Georgia. White-winged doves may be harvested, but count toward the daily bag limit of 15.

Any autoloading or other repeating shotgun must be plugged to hold no more than three shotshells while hunting doves. As always, hunters must obtain permission from landowners before hunting on private property and please respect the land by cleaning up spent shells, leaving gates the way they were found and removing all trash.

Dove hunters 16 years of age and older must possess a Georgia hunting license and a free Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program Permit (HIP Permit). Those hunting WMAs also must possess a WMA license. Hunters may purchase licenses online at www.georgiawildlife.com , by phone at 1-800-366-2661 or at more than 800 license agent locations (list of agents available online).

For more information on dove hunting rules and regulations, public dove fields and conditions, or adult/child dove hunts, hunters should review the 2011-2012 Georgia Hunting Seasons and Regulations guide, available at www.gohuntgeorgia.com or at any Wildlife Resources Division Game Management office.

Updated and accurate harvest rate estimates facilitate the successful management of doves. As such, the U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Research Division and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with several states, including Georgia, initiated a dove trapping and banding project in 2003. Hunters can participate in this conservation effort by examining harvested doves for bands and reporting band numbers to the USFWS by calling 1-800-327-BAND.

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