Fur and feathers IV report 8/5

[WaterDawg]

Got up early and went solo to the IV. Hectic life lately so I put my cell on Do Not Disturb and tried to just relax and smell the alfalfa.

I was heading to my first ECD spot to check and even though it was already bright and sunny, bunnies kept running out in front of me so I pulled out my 10/22 and nabbed a few on the edges of some canals.. Note to self - saw LOTs of quail in this area too.

Found a new euro spot with promise, but after shooting them I lost more than I found due to thick brush. The mornings take:

Drove around for a while with the AC on then checked a few other ECD spots and found one that was decent and the body count piled up a bit. Not like the old days but still, it’s nice having an open season in August.

Succomed to the heat and headed home early. Love the IV.

 

[steveo007]

nice mixed bag, good shooting!

 

[SurfNHuntSD]

Looks like fun.. nice work!

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[Smokey58]

I have a dumb question re: Euros (not the money): During last Dove opener, we had a few Euros in our haul so I recognize them from the above pic but my concern or question is how easy is it to differentiate Euros in flight from morning doves? Cause I would like to go down south and do some euro hunting myself but I fear shooting some morning doves as a blunder and then getting jammed by the Man....

 

[WaterDawg]

I have a dumb question re: Euros (not the money): During last Dove opener, we had a few Euros in our haul so I recognize them from the above pic but my concern or question is how easy is it to differentiate Euros in flight from morning doves? Cause I would like to go down south and do some euro hunting myself but I fear shooting some morning doves as a blunder and then getting jammed by the Man....

Great question Smokey. It’s really pretty easy once you spend a little time hunting them. Here are some of my observations:
- euros are generally larger than mourning
- euros generally fly slower than mournings
- euros are generally much lighter colored underneath
- euros rarely dart about while fkying
- sometimes the area you’re in is 95 percent euros
- sometimes it’s mostly mournings

I shot no mournings or white wings yesterday. I might have accidentally shot a couple of the wrong kind years ago while learning. If in doubt, DONT FIRE.

 

[Smokey58]

Got it. Thanks dawg.

 

[Deleted member 27310]

Great outing WaterDawg. I was at home running electrical and an a/c line set all weekend, I would of picked hunting if I had a choice.

 

[MAG 1]

I have a dumb question re: Euros (not the money): During last Dove opener, we had a few Euros in our haul so I recognize them from the above pic but my concern or question is how easy is it to differentiate Euros in flight from morning doves? Cause I would like to go down south and do some euro hunting myself but I fear shooting some morning doves as a blunder and then getting jammed by the Man....

Euros have a black line on there neck

 

[SurfNHuntSD]

In addition to what others said, take a drive down there and watch the euros fly and land. When they land on power lines/trees, etc., they fan out their tail which has bright white on it. And they fly with a much steadier wingbeat than mournings... not much of that dipping diving and dodging.

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[longbowhunter2]

Got up early and went solo to the IV. Hectic life lately so I put my cell on Do Not Disturb and tried to just relax and smell the alfalfa.

I was heading to my first ECD spot to check and even though it was already bright and sunny, bunnies kept running out in front of me so I pulled out my 10/22 and nabbed a few on the edges of some canals.. Note to self - saw LOTs of quail in this area too.

Found a new euro spot with promise, but after shooting them I lost more than I found due to thick brush. The mornings take:
View attachment 35644
Drove around for a while with the AC on then checked a few other ECD spots and found one that was decent and the body count piled up a bit. Not like the old days but still, it’s nice having an open season in August.
View attachment 35646
Succomed to the heat and headed home early. Love the IV.

View attachment 35645

Wow excellent day out.

 

[longbowhunter2]

Euros have a black line on there neck

Thus collared dove

 

[longbowhunter2]

Since I don't shoot a lot of Dove, I have same anxiety of picking off the wrong dove. I need to get out more often.

 

[MAG 1]

Thus collared dove

THERE tails are flat ( strait line) across the back also when they fly.

 

[WaterDawg]

Thus collared dove

I figured the black collar went without saying lol. Go into just about any neighborhood or by a feed lot down there and watch the ECDs for a few minutes. You’ll quickly figure out what they’re about. More like pigeons than doves. You’re more likely to mistake a white wing, but they’re not as common.

 

[ilovesprig]

Kevin,

That's a great trip to "The Val".

All good stuff on ID'ing Euros from mourning doves.....Now white-wings are much harder under low light conditions or flying right at you....They're slightly smaller than a Euro, but they have a square tail like a Euro....They're darker too and this is my 1st indicator.....The last pic is a pretty good comparison of Euro and mourning dove.

Got this cool Euro the other day....It was smaller and almost all white compared to a standard Euro.

.

 

[TRICER]

Kevin,

That's a great trip to "The Val".

All good stuff on ID'ing Euros from mourning doves.....Now white-wings are much harder under low light conditions or flying right at you....They're slightly smaller than a Euro, but they have a square tail like a Euro....They're darker too and this is my 1st indicator.....The last pic is a pretty good comparison of Euro and mourning dove.

Got this cool Euro the other day....It was smaller and almost all white compared to a standard Euro.

.View attachment 35655View attachment 35656View attachment 35658

Looks like that Euro has some kind of an albino mutation. I have seen pigeons like that but never a Euro. Very cool Steve.

 

[WaterDawg]

Looks like that Euro has some kind of an albino mutation. I have seen pigeons like that but never a Euro. Very cool Steve.

I’ve shot a few like that too. Saw one yesterday. Thought it was a turtle dove at first. No way I was gonna shoot the Bird Of Peace!

 

[Smokey58]

As a bit of related trivia: In northern South America they have these Doves which are bigger than morning and smaller than a pigeon. They all have a rainbow pinkish collar. in the mid 1970s I would hunt them when they were roosting in trees. they don't fly or feed in flocks neither. On me Grandparent's farm, when there was dry corn stalks in the field, I would walk/flush them up like quail or pheasant, pretty fun for 16yr old with a Stevens 16 ga single barrel. Them were simpler times They call them Torcaza.

 

[SurfNHuntSD]

Cool bird Steve.. maybe it came from someone's wedding lol. I once shot a euro that had no collar.. after some Google searches I figured out it was a juvenile euro. I didn't realize the youngsters don't have the stripe yet.

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[WaterDawg]

Cool bird Steve.. maybe it came from someone's wedding lol. I once shot a euro that had no collar.. after some Google searches I figured out it was a juvenile euro. I didn't realize the youngsters don't have the stripe yet.

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Interesting, I’ve never seen one without a collar. Good reason to keep a black sharpie in the car. Probably some wardens who haven’t seen one too lol.