Sept. 1 marks the opening day of the early migratory bird season. This means different things to different folks. For me it is the first day of dove season. That means up to two weeks of daily morning or afternoon trips to the dove fields. I even give up perch fishing for this annual event. The dove season goes on for a while longer after that two weeks. In fact, there is even a late season that will give you a shot at the migrating birds flying through our area. For me the season lasts 10 to 14 days. I will hunt as often, and as long as it takes to fill my daily quota of 15 birds. It doesnt take more than a couple of weeks, though, to burn me out.
After two weeks of pursuing doves, its time to go back to work, but also to prepare for the grouse season in Michigan. After a few trips up north its time to head for Iowa, and some quail, partridge, and pheasant hunting. Later on in October it will be time for the long trek out to South Dakota, and more pheasant hunting. In between all this running around I will be hitting some weekend dog trials. If that werent enough there will also be as many trips to Lake Erie as I can squeeze in. From now until Thanksgiving the perch fishing reaches its zenith. From my perspective the whole year starts Sept. 1. The last eight months were spent just getting ready for it.
I know some of you share my enthusiasm for dove hunting. Hopefully I can entice a few more of you to give it a try. We have been able to enjoy a dove season in Ohio since 1995. Getting the season on the books was a hard-fought battle. A lot of emotion was played out during the debate, and a lot of folks werent happy about the outcome. The argument against hunting these birds mostly centered around two points. These birds had been classified as a song bird, not a game bird since the turn of the century. The other point was that they mated for life. While both of these arguments are true, there is, as usual, a little more to the story.
Before they were pushed to near extinction by commercial hunters, Mourning Doves were considered a game bird. With government protection their numbers rebounded, and biologists determined they could maintain a healthy population while having a regulated hunting season. The Ohio Division of Wildlife reports there are approximately 400 million doves on the continent, with around 23 million harvested annually by hunters. The second argument concerning the fact that they are monogamous does not mean a bird that loses its mate will never reproduce. They will seek another mate when one of the pair is gone.
Even with this knowledge, some folks still harbor a sympathy for these birds. My wife approves of, and even supports, most of my hunting and fishing adventures. However, I have learned not to bring up the subject of dove hunting when we are together. Along with many others, she has some strong feelings about this subject, and I know that is one debate where I am not going to sway her opinion.
Catch you later, Rick
