Counting Doves

We’re still about two months away from the Sept. 1 opener of another Texas dove season, but Owen Fitzsimmons and his staff have been in a hunting mode since mid-May.

Fitzsimmons is the point man for Texas Parks and Wildlife’s webless migratory bird program. As the title implies, he oversees all migratory birds in Texas that do not have webbed feet. Cranes, rails, gallinules, snipe and woodcock get plenty of attention, but doves always get the most love.

Dove season is a huge deal in these parts. Even in a poor year, Texas dove hunting is way better than other states, thanks to abundant populations of birds and a wealth of places to hunt them on private and public lands.

Texas’ resident mourning dove population is estimated at around 20 million, 10 million white-winged doves and about 3.5 million exotic Eurasian collared doves. Fitzsimmons says the overall number can go much during banner hatch years.

Factor in the 20-30 million northern migrants that pass through Texas en route to Mexico and Central America each fall and the number can easily swell between 50-60 million birds.

Fitzsimmons says there are about 300,000 dove hunters in Texas who routinely account for about 30 percent of the total mourning dove harvest and 84% of the white-winged dove harvest in the United States each year. Last season, Texas hunters shot a combined total of more than 6.5 million doves and spent nearly one million hunter days in the field, according to TPWD’s 2022-23 Small Game Harvest Survey.

Mourning doves always account for the bulk of the harvest in Texas and nationwide, about 4.3 million in 2022-23. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports from 2021-22 show Georgia was No. 2 behind Texas that year with an estimated harvest of 856,500 birds.

Not surprisingly, dove hunting represents a really fat cash cow. Fitzsimmons says dove hunting generates about $316 million annually for the Texas economy, alone. Adjusted for inflation the number jumps to about $452 million.

DOVE COUNTS

Fitzsimmons says state wildlife biologists and technicians conduct rural and urban surveys each year to keep tabs on the heartbeat of Texas’ valuable dove populations. The statewide surveys are always carried out during the height of the birds’ nesting season, which typically runs from from about mid-May to mid-June.

Counting wild doves is a time-consuming process that demands significant manpower. Fitzsimmons says about 80-100 wildlife biologists and technicians are involved in carrying out the annual surveys.

HOW IT’S DONE

Researchers conduct the surveys using a technique called distance sampling. Rural surveys are aimed mostly at mourning doves, whereas urban surveys focus mostly on city dwelling white-winged doves.

Fitzsimmons says biologists conduct rural surveys by driving 20 mile routes during the early morning hours, usually from about sunrise to 9:30 a.m. They stop every mile for three minutes and document every bird seen or heard. Urban surveys are done by cruising set points across urban landscapes. The data gathered is part of a formula scientists use to estimate annual spring breeding abundance.

TPWD wrapped up its 2023 surveys around June 15. Fitzsimmons says data is still rolling in from across the state, so the final numbers have not yet been crunched. However, the biologist believes another good hunting is in the works.

“I’m hearing from people all over the last month or two who say they are seeing way more birds than they have seen in the last few years,” he said. “I know I’m seeing a lot more birds in Central Texas than I’ve seen the last few years. We’ll know more once all of the numbers are in, but right now I’m thinking it’s going to be a good year.”

Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by email, mattwillwrite4u@yahoo.com.