Dove-hunting tips can save hassle, ticket

Published online on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008

The biggest hunting day of the year in the San Joaquin Valley falls on a national holiday.

Which is great news for thousands of local hunters anticipating Monday's Labor Day-themed dove opener. And not-so-great news for rural landowners and game wardens.

"More people will go hunting Monday than on any other day of the year," said John Baker, assistant chief of enforcement for the Department of Fish and Game.

"And a lot of people buy their licenses just for the dove opener, which makes for a lot of novice and out-of-practice hunters."

Hunters can avoid a ticket (or a testy contact with a warden) by following a few simple rules:

Legal hunting begins 30 minutes before sunrise and ends at sunset. Hunters cannot enter fields that are fenced, posted with "no trespassing" signs or under cultivation without written permission from the owner.

Avoid the no-shoot zone that extends around the Fresno-Clovis border. In rural areas, hunting is illegal within 150 yards of occupied dwellings.

The 10-bird daily bag limit of mourning doves means just that. It doesn't mean opening-day hunters can shoot 10 birds in the morning and 10 more in the afternoon, a practice wardens call "two tripping."

"You can't possess 20 birds on opening day because it's only been one day," Baker said. "But for some reason, people are always confused about that.

"Confused is a polite way of putting it."

The biggest change to this year's dove regulations is the Fish and Game Commission's decision to exclude non-native Eurasian collared doves from the daily bag limit.

Introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s and spreading West, Eurasian collared doves measure 11 to 12 inches long -- significantly larger than mourning doves -- and have a 14-inch wingspan. They are solid sandy-gray colored except for a darker gray stripe on the edge of their wings and a collar of black feathers on their necks.

Because of their size, slower wingbeat and thicker silhouette, Eurasian collared doves often are mistaken for pigeons.

Baker said Eurasian collared doves in the San Joaquin Valley tend to congregate in urban areas that are off-limits to hunting, though large numbers have been seen in the Tranquillity and Chowchilla areas.

Based on unofficial warden surveys, Baker expects large numbers of all dove species to be available for hunters. In 2006, Fresno County accounted for 8.6% of the total statewide bag of mourning doves; only Imperial and Kern counties ranked higher. Tulare County accounted for 6.1% with Madera and Merced counties at 3.5%.

That year, the last in which figures are available, California hunters harvested 1,545,187 mourning doves -- a 24% decrease from 2005.

Baker predicted this year's figures would rebound.

"Barring a fluke thunderstorm that drives the birds further south, it should be a good shoot," he said. "We're expecting a whole lot of people and large numbers of birds."

Dove season continues until Sept. 15 and picks up again from Nov. 8 through Dec. 22.

All hunters must possess a valid license with an Upland Game Bird stamp. Regulations can be viewed at www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations.