Iowa reports on its 3rd dove season

[mike rossi]

Iowa’s Third Dove Season

After Ten Years of this in Iowa:  http://youtu.be/G5lJFMe7X0U

Dove hunting interest remains high

August 25, 2013

Hunter interest remains high heading into Iowa’s third mourning dove season. The 70-day season opens Sept. 1, with birds now pouring into Iowa on their southward migration.

The number of hunters should edge upward, too.

“I expect a little bump up in hunter numbers again as more of them learn about dove hunting. A few more friends will come along,” said DNR upland research biologist Todd Bogenschutz.

Last year, 9,328 dove hunters harvested 94,864 birds, according to the postseason small game survey. That was up from 8,780 hunters, taking 57,285 mourning doves in 2011, the first year of dove hunting in Iowa.

Iowa’s summer “call count” showed a stable local dove population early this summer.

“Hunters are learning more about hunting and where to find doves,” said Bogenschutz. “That first week is good. It’ll drop off after the first killing frost, but there are great hunting opportunities throughout the two-month season.”

The continent’s most populous game bird, doves will concentrate in fields that have been harvested or which have food plots — especially if bare ground is available. Rather than walking and flushing birds, camouflaged hunters should sit and wait near food sources, water or roosting locations.

As with most upland species, weather is always a factor. A soggy April and May meant numerous fields did not get planted or were flooded. Bogenschutz said he has noticed plenty of fields in the past weeks which came up in weeds or which might have had a cover crop like winter wheat planted. Both offer great dove hunting, especially if disked to provide bare ground for feeding.

Iowa’s best dove hunting is probably on public wildlife areas with sunflower plantings. Hunters increase their chances of success by scouting ahead of time; checking with wildlife biologists in their area, for locations of sunflower plots or — in the case of flooded fields — areas replanted late with cover crops. The Iowa DNR’s website www.iowadnr. gov has a variety of mourning dove hunting information.

Mourning doves are classed as a federal migratory bird. A migratory bird fee is not required to hunt doves.

 

Eight of the lower 48 states, NY, NJ, MA, Maine, VT, NH, Conn., and MI do not allow dove hunting. If you are interested in knowing why dove hunting is not allowed and how to make a change, follow our page and join our grassroots effort.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/NY-Dove-Hunting/365031743546569?ref=hl

In the last decade the states prohibiting dove hunting has been cut in half. Every one of these states had the same battle as Iowa as shown in the video. As a matter of fact, Michigan had established a season only to have it repealed three years later. Just recently Michigan passed a law designating their Department of Natural Resources as the authority on setting hunting seasons. However, an exception was made for one species – the mourning dove. Rhode Island, the only northeastern state besides Pennsylvania which allows dove hunting, recently fought off an attempt by the Humane Society of the US to repeal their dove season. The same anti-hunting organizations are targeting the same states, including NY just a few years ago to close down state pheasant farms and ban state pheasant release programs.