2019 dove season to open this Sunday

By Kathy Thomson

Opening day of dove hunting in Texas is Sunday, Sept. 1, and for the fourth year in a row, hunters across the Lone Star State, including those in the Albany area, will have a 90-day hunting season and 15-bird daily bag limit.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) dove program leader Owen Fitzsimmons, dove populations have thrived this year thanks to the amount and timing of spring rains across most of the state that kicked habitat into high gear for dove breeding season.

“With the abundant highly-preferred dove foods available on the landscape this year, we’re seeing excellent production,” Fitzsimmons said. “Many of the states to the north had similar spring habitat conditions, which should result in a strong influx of migrant birds for Texas later in the season. I’m excited about the prospects this season; it should be fantastic.”

According to local game warden Jacob Mort, hunters in Shackelford County may have to hunt a little longer to reach their limit than they have in some years.

“The bird numbers are a little below average right now, but more and more are coming in every day,” the game warden said. “Because of all the moisture we had last year, we have a lot of food and shelter out there. The birds will likely not be as concentrated in any particular field but instead will be spread out across larger areas.”

A hot, dry landscape heading into the season can concentrate dove around feeding and watering areas, making for excellent hunting, according to wildlife biologists with the TPWD. 

The rainfall that Albany received this week was just in time to favor the doves and will likely require hunters and their dogs to spend a little more energy flushing out the birds, since they will have more sources of water. 

Each fall, more than 300,000 Texas hunters harvest around 10 million birds, nearly one third of all mourning doves taken nationwide each year, according to the TPWD. 

Although those numbers may seem huge, the wildlife department reminded readers that Texas supports breeding populations of over 34 million mourning and 10 million white-winged doves, and those numbers rise even higher during the fall when birds from northern latitudes funnel south.

Dove Hunting Rules

Dove season in the North Zone, which includes Shackelford County, is Sept. 1 to Nov. 12, and Dec. 20 to Jan. 5. Hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. 

Sunrise in Shackelford County on Sept. 1, 2019 will occur at 7:11 a.m., and sunset at 8:03 p.m.

“This year the season opens on Sunday, not Saturday,” said Mort. “But I have a feeling some folks will be out.”

There are at least eight different species of dove in Texas, and hunters need to know which species can be hunted, which can not be hunted, and which have varied bag limits. 

For example, in the North Zone, the daily limit for dove is 15 birds per day, with up to a total of three times the daily bag limit in their possession. Bag limits vary for different species of doves and hunters can not harvest more than two white-tip dove per day, while protected dove species can not be hunted at all. 

Information on various dove species is available at the TPWD website, tpwd.texas.gov/regulations.

Resident License

Hunters are reminded that licenses are currently on sale for the 2019-20 hunting seasons and can be purchased through the TPWD’s 28 law enforcement field offices, at more than 50 state parks, and from over 1,700 retailers across the state. 

Albany stores that sell hunting licenses are Blanton-Caldwell Trading Co. on Main Street and Higginbotham Brothers Co. on Railroad Street. 

Licenses may also be purchased online through the TPWD website or by phone at 800-895-4248. 

Call center hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and there is a required $5 administrative fee for each phone or online transaction. The online transaction system is available 24/7.

New this year, “expedited checkout” speeds the process of re-purchasing the same license items bought most recently within the last three years.

The typical cost for a Texas resident hunting license is $25, while a senior resident hunting license (for Texas residents 65 years of age and older) is $7.

Packages that combine hunting and fishing licenses and lifetime licenses are also available.

Disabled veterans and active military may be eligible for a free hunting license.

Hunters 17 years of age or older must have a driver’s license or personal identification certificate (issued by the Department of Public Safety) on their person while hunting. Non-residents must have similar documents issued by the agency in the state or country of which the person is a resident.

Hunters are now allowed to use a digital image of their hunting license as proof-of-license for any hunting that doesn’t require a tag, like dove hunting. Accepted formats include: (1) a digital photo, (2) an emailed receipt, (3) within the Outdoor Annual app or the My Texas Hunt Harvest app, or 4) online purchase record.

Non-resident License

The costs for a non-resident general hunting license is $315, a non-resident special hunting license is $132, and a non-resident five-day special hunting license can be purchased for $48. Endorsements are also required.

Youth License

Non-residents under 17 years of age are designated as residents and may hunt with a resident license. Youth (those under 17 years of age at the date of license purchase) hunting license cost $7, and do not need a migratory bird endorsement.

Endorsement

A person 17 years of age or older must possess a migratory game bird endorsement receipt to hunt any migratory game bird in this state, including mourning doves. 

The costs for a Texas migratory game bird endorsement is $7.

When purchasing a hunting license, buyers must indicate to the license clerk that they intend to hunt migratory game birds and need to be HIP certified by answering a few simple questions.

HIP Certification

No person can hunt migratory game birds in this state unless that person is certified in the Harvest Information Program (HIP) in Texas. 

“The HIP is the one thing that quite a few hunters seem to forget about,” said Mort. 

HIP certification involves a brief survey of the hunter’s previous year’s migratory bird hunting success and is conducted at the time licenses are purchased. There is no charge for the HIP certificate, but hunters need to make sure that the license vendor asks them the HIP questions and provides them with the certification.

The letters “HIP” should appear on the license to indicate that the buyer has been HIP certified.

Hunter Education

In addition to a hunting license, anyone born after Sept. 1, 1971, must successfully complete a hunter education training course. Those under 17 and those 17 and older who purchase a one-time deferral license may hunt legally in Texas if accompanied by a licensed hunter 17 years or older who has passed hunter education or who is otherwise exempt. 

Accompanied means being within normal voice control. 

Proof of certification or deferral is required to be on the individual’s person while hunting.

Minimum age of certification is nine years.

Single-day in-person course cost is $15.

Persons 17 years of age and older have the option of taking the course in person or online.