What happened to the dove???

[pmwest]

September 1st has been the opening day of dove season for as long as I can remember. I usually take time off work to hunt on opening day. I have seen several times when cold fronts the last week of August would move through and push some of the birds ahead of it but this year is very different. Last week there were dove everywhere. Since the front passed on Saturday there is nothing, temperatures have dropped to upper 70’s during the day and lower 60”s at night. Love the weather but not good for dove hunting. Cancelled my hunt plans because I can’t find anything to shoot at. I guess the smokepole will stay clean today. Hope that wherever they moved to gives someone else a good shoot.

 

[rabjr]

Why should they fly all the way there when they are content at my bird feeder. :grin:

 

[John Wasmuth]

Our drought has caused them to go to greener pastures, literally.

 

[PaulN/KS]

Somebody tipped them off to the opening date here in NE Kansas... :hmm:
Had em all around the place till a day or so ago... :shake:

 

[Joel Lehman]

I've had good opening day success at small stock tanks near Austin. This year the tanks are
bone dry.

I've hunted the property since 1962 and this is the first time I have seen all four tanks dry. I didn't go hunting. Most of the white wing doves are in my back yard pecan trees anyway.

 

[pmwest]

Why should they fly all the way there when they are content at my bird feeder. :grin:

What time does the shoot start? I can be there by day break. :grin:

 

[vern faulkner]

:blah: I seen two of them in Pennsyltucky yesterday :rotf: :rotf:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Had four in the road this morning that scattered when I drove through.

They know they are protected in NY and spend the Fall here. :rotf: :rotf:

 

[GreyWhiskers]

We had a decent opener this morning but many of the birds moved out of the area in the last few days. Had some thunder clouds and wind. No rain but I guess just enough drop in temps to send them south. GW

 

[Jblk]

We have the same problem here in Central Illinois.The season comes in just as the weather starts to get cooler at night and it causes the doves to migrate.About the only place you can get any targets is around a sunflower field or a silage operation.

 

[pmwest]

Not the best of opening days here in KY. I went to several state run wildlife management areas and talked to a few hunters on the field. Many were leaving out of frustration or waiting in the parking areas hoping that there would be a late afternoon flight. One of the 20 acre sunflower fields that was monitored by a biologist reported hearing only 6 shots in 4 hours from about 2 dozen hunters. The only place I saw any number of dove was on a 95 acre sunflower field and there were more hunters on the field than birds. A friend of mine hunted in the central part of the state on a 20 acres sunflower field and out of the group of 4 they shot 20 dove. These are pretty efficient shooters and they normally limit out on a good field. On the positive side, I am starting to see a few dove moving in areas where I normally see them so hopefully numbers will increase by the weekend.

 

[Cowboy45j]

I guess they all came to my neighborhood. We took a bunch of whitewings yesterday. I've never seen whitewing here just north of Houston.

 

[rabjr]

Why should they fly all the way there when they are content at my bird feeder. :grin:

What time does the shoot start? I can be there by day break. :grin:

:haha: I wish but been told they are off limits.

 

[NMRog]

Same problem here. For the two previous years we had no birds because of the draught. This year we finally got some rains and had lots of doves until two weeks ago when the temps dropped into the mid 30's two nights in a row and poof, they were gone.

 

[Mountainman56]

The white wings are all in Fort Stockton, mostly in my yard crappin on my vehicles. :shake: On the other hand the dove field at work where we usually hunt them is vacant.