AGFC Preparing Dove Fields for Opening Weekend

With Arkansas’s dove hunting season opening in a little more than a week, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff are sweating the details on public land statewide to prepare hunting opportunities for doves across many wildlife management areas.

Although a handful of the most popular areas are managed by draw hunts, the AGFC’s wildlife management division still manages nearly 600 acres of wildlife openings and food plots that are ideal locations to find doves this opening weekend, Sept. 5-6.

“This year, we’ll have 71 fields across 22 WMAs that are first-come, first-served,” Brett Leach, Waterfowl Program Coordinator for the AGFC, said. “And all of the WMA fields that have permit hunts will also be available to anyone after opening weekend, adding another 108 acres of opportunity.”

Leach says most of the fields serve as winter wheat food plots, but the AGFC topsows the wheat and times the planting to help attract a few doves before the seeds germinate.

“We’ve been clearing and topsowing the fields during the last week,” Leach said. “You want to expose seeds for 7 to 10 days before the opening day to give time for the birds to find it. If rain comes, the seeds sprout and don’t serve much good to the doves, but some of these fields usually stay dry enough to have seed sources available by opening day.”

Not all of the fields will be topsown wheat. Leach says a few fields were planted with sunflowers, millet and milo earlier in the year. Those fields are being mowed this week in preparation for the season as well.

“We have all of the WMAs with fields listed on agfc.com alongside the size of the fields, the type of planting that took place and maps to show the locations of these areas,” Leach said. “It’s also a good idea to review the regulations for each of these WMAs because many require nontoxic shot for all migratory birds, including doves.”

Many of the more popular dove fields are found in the Delta, but Leach says there are many opportunities elsewhere, including the Arkansas River Valley, Southwest Arkansas and even a handful of fields in the northwest region of the state.

He also hints that hunters may want to check out these fields after opening weekend as well.

“I’ve hunted these public fields, and if you’re willing to go in the afternoon after opening day, you practically will have the field to yourself,” Leach said. “You’re probably not going to see as fast of action as opening morning, but I’ve gotten on some birds and had some good hunts this way.”

Leach also points out that a few new fields were added this year, both in southeast Arkansas. Little Bayou WMA in Ashley County and Seven Devils WMA in Drew County will offer publicly available dove fields throughout the season this year on a first-come, first-served basis.

Visit www.agfc.com/dove for more information on dove hunting and public dove fields in Arkansas.

Duck bands on a dove?

Banded ducks may attract all the attention, but just about every migratory bird species is studied using legbands. During the last century, biologists have learned mountains of valuable knowledge about each bird species’ migration paths, breeding grounds, population size and survival rates using bands to track individuals throughout the world. While most nongame species require being caught multiple times by researchers, hunters of game species play a critical role in helping biologists learn about the populations of the species they pursue. If a hunter harvests any migratory gamebird with a leg band, they are encouraged to report the harvest at www.reportband.gov.

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CUTLINES:

SUNSET
Although opening morning is always a favorite, AGFC Waterfowl Program Coordinator Brett Leach says afternoons also can also offer some good dove hunting. AGFC photo.

FIELD HUNT
Many options other than sunflower fields exist for dove hunting on Arkansas WMAs. AGFC photo.

DOVE BANDING
AGFC biologists band doves in summer to help keep tabs on population shifts, and hunters can help monitoring efforts by reporting any banded birds they harvest. AGFC photo.