Southeast Texas included in early special Whitewing Days
Hunters statewide will have an opportunity to pursue doves during the first weekend of September. While the traditional opener begins Sept. 1 for Texas’ North and Central Dove Zones, hunting in the southern region of the state begins Sept. 2, thanks to an expansion of the Special White-winged Dove Area across the entire South Dove Zone. Previously, these early 4 days of dove hunting were restricted to an area roughly west and south of San Antonio and Corpus Christi. “The expansion of early white-winged dove hunting during the first two weekends in September, in effect, create early September hunting opportunities statewide for the first time ever,” said Dave Morrison, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife Division deputy director. The regular season opening day in the South Dove Zone begins Sept. 22, the earliest date possible this year under federal guidelines.
Dove prospects fair to excellent across Texas
Roughly 15 percent of the nation’s 300 million mourning dove reside in Texas, along with about 15 million white-winged doves at the beginning of September. Each fall, over 300,000 Texas dove hunters take to the field in pursuit of these acrobatic, fast-flying game birds. Based on field observations by TPWD wildlife biologists, prospects for the 2017-18 hunting season are fair to excellent across the state as habitat conditions vary depending on scattered precipitation and timing of plants seeding out. “Texas had above average mourning dove production early in the spring with continued good production where precipitation occurred through the spring and summer,” said Shaun Oldenburger, TPWD Dove Program Leader. “Good croton, sunflower, ragweed, and other highly-selected dove foods were found statewide this year. Where good water conditions and timing of seeding in these plants coincide, hunters should find good hunting in September for mourning doves.” White-winged doves were observed flocking in late July in urban areas across the state with good numbers starting to move to more rural areas in early August, according to Oldenburger. Mourning dove populations concentrate around water and food resources in August during the traditional hottest part of the year. See TPWD’s Youtube video for more dove hunting season details.
2017-18 Dove Season Calendar
North Zone: Sept. 1 – Nov. 12 and Dec. 15-31. Central Zone: Sept. 1 – Nov. 5 and Dec. 15 – Jan. 7, 2018. Special White-winged Dove Days (entire South Zone): Sept. 2-3, 9-10. South Zone: Sept. 22 – Nov. 8 and Dec. 15 – Jan. 21, 2018. The daily bag limit for doves statewide is 15 and the possession limit 45. During the early two weekends for the Special White-winged Dove Days (in the South Zone), hunting only occurs from noon to sunset, and with a daily bag limit of 15 birds, to include not more than two mourning doves and two white-tipped doves. During the general season in the South Zone, the aggregate bag limit is 15 with no more than two white-tipped doves. —photo and article courtesy TPWD
