Dove numbers surge; hunting forecast bright

Population indices jumped by as much as 88 percent in some areas.

JEFFERSON CITY-Dove hunters in the Kansas City and St. Louis regions have reason to rejoice, if population figures released by the Missouri Department of Conservation are any indication.

Dove season opens Sept. 1 and runs through Nov. 9. The daily limit remains 12, the possession limit 24. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until sunset. Mourning doves are Missouri's most prolific game birds, with most nesting pairs hatching several broods each year. The Conservation Department tracks the state's dove population through two surveys each summer. One counts the number of doves heard calling along predetermined survey routes. The other counts doves actually seen.

This year's calling bird survey showed a statistically insignificant decline in dove numbers. However, the roadside survey turned up a significant increase in the number of doves seen statewide and dramatic increases in some regions.

Statewide, the number of doves observed in roadside counts increased 29 percent compared to last year and 54 percent compared to the average of the past 10 years.

The Kansas City Region (Jackson, Cass, Bates, Vernon, Lafayette, Johnson, Henry, St. Clair, Pettis and Benton counties) showed an 88.3 percent increase from last year. The St. Louis Region (Lincoln, Warren, St. Charles, St. Louis, Franklin, Jefferson, Washington and Crawford counties) was a close second with an 82 percent gain. Other regions with increased dove numbers were Northeast Missouri, 41.1 percent; Central Missouri, 40.3 percent; Southeast Missouri, 33.1 percent; Southwest Missouri, 17.6 percent; and northwest Missouri, 2.4 percent. The Ozark Region posted a 5.5 percent decrease in dove numbers.

While gains are important, from a dove hunter's point of view the important thing is total numbers. Going strictly by numbers of doves seen per mile of survey route, the 10-county Kansas City Region still leads the pack with 2.58 birds per mile. However, Central and Southwest Missouri are tied for second with 1.74 per mile, followed by Southeast Missouri with 1.69, Northwest with 1.68, Northeast with 1.56, St. Louis with .71 and the Ozarks with .69.

"These numbers are about as good as we have seen in 10 years," said Conservation Department Resource Scientist John Schulz. "This is just a survey-a snapshot of how many birds surveyors happened to see along certain routes on a particular day in a given year. It isn't a count of all the birds in an area, so the value of the numbers it yields are most useful for detecting long-term population changes over a period of many years. Just the same, these are terrific numbers, and I expect hunters to see more doves this year than they did in 2005."

Habitat conditions are likely to be much like last year's, due to hot, dry weather. Doves' primary food is seeds, and they like to feed on open ground. Droughty weather produces lots of open ground, and it causes plants to mature earlier. That is good for the September first dove opener - if hunters can find places with enough seeds to attract doves.

The Conservation Department manages fields on some conservation areas especially for doves. Sunflowers, wheat, millet and other seed-producing crops make many of those spots dove magnets. However, the quality of managed dove fields varies widely depending on local weather conditions and resources available for cultivation. Some fields are excellent, others poor. Only pre-season scouting can reveal the difference.

For dove field locations, visit www.missouriconservation.org/hunt/dove.

Dove hunters 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.

Three species of doves are legal game in Missouri. Mourning doves are native to Missouri. White-winged doves, which once were found only in the southwestern United States, have expanded their range into Missouri in recent years. A third species, the Eurasian collared dove, arrived in Florida in the 1980s, probably blown there by tropical storms. That species also has expanded its range to include Missouri and is locally abundant in parts of southeast Missouri.

Mourning doves make up 99.9 percent of Missouri's annual dove harvest, but all three species are legal to hunt. The daily limit of 12 doves is an aggregate limit, including all three species. For example, a hunter could shoot 10 mourning doves, one Eurasian collared dove and one white-winged dove in one day.

Full details of dove hunting regulations are found in the 2006 Migratory Bird Hunting Digest, available wherever hunting permits are sold.

Schulz reminded hunters to pick up spent shotgun shells and remove them from hunting areas when they leave. Empty shotgun shells are litter, and leaving them behind carries the risk of a littering ticket.

-Jim Low-