Page 149 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2020

Dove Season Begins a New Round of Hunting Opportunities
For many people, the September dove season opener not only heralds a new time of sporting adventures, but creates a major social event. In many communities, families and friends gather at a designated place to hunt and socialize, usually ending the day with a big barbecue or potluck.
Mississippi sportsmen can hunt doves in two zones. Both zones open on September 5. The rst split in the North Zone runs through October 18. Another split runs from October 24 to November 21 and the late split lasts from December 23 until January 8, 2021.
The South Zone includes everything south of U.S. Highway 84 and east of Mississippi Highway 35. The rst South Zone split ends on September 20. The second split goes from October 10 to November 8 and again from December 19 through January 31, 2021.
“The Mississippi dove population has remained relatively stable in recent years,” reports Houston Havens with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. “One of the best indicators is the previous year’s harvest estimates. Statewide harvest estimates indicate that last year
was a good year for dove harvest, increasing over the previous year.”
In either zone, Mississippi sportsmen can bag up to 15 birds per day in any combination of mourning and white-winged doves. Native to Mexico and the southwestern United States, white-
winged doves began expanding their range northward and eastward a few years ago. People can also hunt Eurasian collared doves. Native to south Asia, collared doves arrived in the United States about 40 years ago. Their distinctive
black neck collars provide excellent identi cation marks.
“White-winged doves are more common in the southern part of Mississippi than in other regions
of the state,” Havens explains. “Eurasian collared doves are becoming more common statewide, but they are typically most common around urban areas. Both species are legal for harvest in Mississippi. Since Eurasian collared doves are an exotic species, there is no bag limit or season restriction on their harvest. If a hunter harvests a Eurasian collared dove, that bird does not count toward the 15-bird bag limit for doves.”
Doves generally like open elds, croplands and brushy pastures with scattered tall trees, fencerows, high wires or other places that create perching areas where they can watch for predators. Agricultural lands create excellent food sources for doves. The diminutive birds
primarily eat small seeds including sun ower, millet, sesame seeds, wheat and many native grass seeds. Doves may consume their weight in seeds each day. When feeding, doves prefer bare ground where they
can get at the seeds, but with leafy canopies above them to hide them from hawks and other predators.
Dove hunting creates an excellent opportunity for entire families to enjoy the outdoors and introduce youngsters or novices to hunting. Children typically become bored by sitting too long, but dove hunters usually see good activity from
ying birds. Hunters don’t need to sit still for long hours, but can talk and move a bit, making it more pleasurable for young sportsmen.
Dress cool and bring plenty
of water when hunting the
early seasons. South Mississippi temperatures can still hit close
to 100 degrees in September.
Many people sit on comfortable folding chairs in the shade along timberlines, fencerows or eld edges to watch the skies.
For more hunting season information, see www.mdwfp.com/ media/300824/20-2020-2021- hunting-season- yer-web.pdf.
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living | www.smliving.net September 2020 | 149