Pretty brutal report from Jim Matthews for the dove opener...I have to admit, it's been tough finding them...Even MCC, which is a totally different kind of habitat is really weak this year...Just hoping what has happened to band tailed pigeons isn't happening to mourning doves (disease)...........
Arizona sounds like the place to go too...I'm sure Matty will give us a full report........
ps,.,,Morning temps at Lake Henshaw were 45...Fall is in the air.........
Western Birds Vol. 17 No. 1 Price $30 August 29, 2024
Jim Matthews
There’s not much good news for 2024
Don’t shoot the messenger. I won’t say there’s no good news for the 2024 dove season opener on Sunday, and I don’t like using the word “bleak,” but things do look pretty bleak for most of the public hunting areas across the southern half of the state this year. Maybe I’m just jaded and expect to see a couple of thousand or more birds using some of the public fields in the Imperial Valley or Blythe region. But those birds, in those numbers, are not there this year. The bottom line is simply that there are not many doves in concentrated numbers across the region, especially in the usual farmed areas where we hunt them. Everyone I spoke with is scratching their heads about the reasons for the lack of birds. This is not to say there are no doves. All areas have doves, just not in anything near the concentrated volume we would expect to see. What makes this more baffling is that dove numbers have been trending up over the last two years. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, data showed an increase last year, and preliminary numbers for this year suggest another increase in the Western Management Unit. This would mark two years of increases. So where are these doves? There are some obvious reasons why traditional hunting spots don’t have birds this year: The Desert Wildlife Unlimited (DWU) fields in the Imperial Valley were not planted at all this year (more details in the area).
Camp Cady was not planted. Minimal planting was done at San Jacinto. Cibola National Wildlife Refuge was planted with a single tiny wheat plot. But even places that had good crops were not attracting the number of birds expected — especially considering the volume of birds we should have in the flyway. That is the head scratcher. The usual triggers that start the dove migration south have been absent or moderate. There were some early monsoons in June and July, but that is too early to trigger movement. There have been no storms since. There have been cooler than normal days and nights in the past couple of weeks. (I had along-time dove observer tell me the whitewings move if the night temperatures go below 80 degrees in the Imperial Valley). Lastly, the moon phase is coming up to the new phase right around the opener (last year it was full). So everything is about opposite — conditions-wise — as last year where we had massive monsoons, a full moon, and hot weather right up until the opener. Theories abound: Some believe the majority of birds have already moved south, earlier than normal; but that doesn’t explain the continued presence of whitewings which go south sooner than mourning doves. Some believe the dove population is just down, in spite of what the science shows. Some believe that unusually high heat through much of the summer and early monsoons actually pushed birds north — doves that would normally be here now. They suggest the doves will becoming through in great numbers over the next week or two, flooding fields with birds. I love the eternal optimists. The last theory is that guys are suggesting the morning doves are all still here (they admit the whitewings are nearly all gone), but just widely scattered on the abundant food sources that are everywhere this year. I don’t know. Most of you know that I always have a theory. Not on this one. I’m baffled. I’m not sure I’m buying any of the theories. I will be interested to hear dove opener reports from all of you. I’m almost believing the birds will magically appear for opener.
