Page 4 - 2018 SEPT/OCT Outdoor Oklahoma

Off the Beaten Path

NOT ES ON WILDLIFE • OU T DOOR TI PS • R EA DERS’ LET T ERS • EN V I RON MEN TA L NEWS
C OM PILED BY DON P. BROW N

HUNTERS ASKED TO INSPECT DOVES FOR LEG BANDS

For the second year, hunters will have an extra 29 days to
harvest doves in Oklahoma.
Dove season arrives Sept. 1, the first of all of the fall hunting WILDLIFEDEPARTMENT.COM
seasons to open each year. The season will close Oct. 31, but
reopen from Dec. 1-29.
Besides being the earliest hunting season to open statewide,
it is also a popular hunting season in terms of participation
thanks to usually mild weather, ease of hunting, and the ample
supply of birds.
The Wildlife Department’s 2016 Game Harvest Survey esti-
mated that 58,500 hunters harvested about 1.37 million doves
in the 2015 season.
Mourning doves are among the most widely distributed and
abundant birds in North America. They are also a popular
game bird nationally, with hunting seasons established in 37 of
the lower 48 states. There are more mourning doves harvested
than all other migratory game bird species combined.
For many years, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Con-
servation biologists and technicians have participated in bird
banding studies for doves, and they did so again this past sum-
mer. Doves are trapped in cages and then banded with U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service metal bands inscribed with unique
numbers and the website where harvested bands should be
reported. The doves are then immediately released.
Hunters are a critical link in this mourning dove banding
study. By checking all harvested doves for bands, and reporting banded doves, hunters help biologists manage this important
migratory game bird resource.
WILDLIFEDEPARTMENT.COM them. Carefully check all doves harvested for the presence of
Dove bands are very small, and hunters could easily overlook
a leg band. Hunters who harvest a banded mourning dove are
asked to report it at www.reportband.gov. Hunters can keep
the band and will be provided a certificate of appreciation that
identifies who banded the bird, the age and sex of the bird, and
the date and location where the bird was banded.
Three species of doves are found in Oklahoma: mourning,
white-winged and Eurasian collared. Hunters may take all
three species, with the daily bag limit being 15 birds combined.
However, there is no limit on Eurasian collared doves as long as
the head or one feathered wing remains attached to the carcass.
Because doves are migratory game birds, hunters are required
to carry a Harvest Information Program permit (unless the
hunter is exempt from a hunting license). HIP permits are free
online at www.wildlifedepartment.com or $3 from any license
vendor. Also, shotguns must be plugged so as to hold no more
than three shotshells at any time.

2 Off the Beaten Path

OutdoorOK-2018-September-October.indd 2 8/13/18 4:15 PM