The 2009 dove season began this past Saturday, Sept. 5 and it runs headlong into other activities like fishing and college football. Likely, all three activities saw high participation last Saturday. There were no big money fishing tournaments scheduled for the Labor Day weekend but the cooler weather has the fish biting a little better.

The dove season in Georgia will have three seasons and those are Sept. 5 through 20, Oct. 10 through 18 and Nov. 26 through Jan 9. On opening day the dove season began at noon and ran until sunset. On all other hunting days, you can hunt from 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset. Hunters are allowed to harvest 15 per day.

The white winged dove (Zenaida aslatica) has been showing up in Georgia in greater numbers this year. Hunters are allowed to harvest the white winged dove and it counts toward the bag limit of 15. The white winged dove normally has a range that includes the Caribbean, Mexico and the southwest United States but is now showing up in the southeastern United States.

The white winged dove is about the same length (10 to 12 inches) as the mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) that Georgia hunters normally harvest but often the white winged dove is much chunkier than the mourning dove. The coloration is about the same for both birds and most hunters will not be able to distinguish their difference in flight.

Doves can fly up to 55 mph but some hunters swear their speed is closer to 100 mph. Add in the dipping and darting flight path and the dove can be a difficult target for less experienced shooters. If you have not practiced a little clay shooting you may find yourself shooting several times before scoring on a bird.

I have to admit that in my younger years I would never go to a good dove shoot without five boxes of shells. That is 125 shells and back then the limit was 10 birds. I never shot five boxes but I never wanted to give out of shells at a good dove shoot.

Each year as the dove season approaches, I am reminded of my many trips to the dove field over the years. While growing up in south Alabama, the opening of dove season was a really big event every year. It was treated almost as a holiday.

Stores closed and family and friends gathered at farms across the area to shoot birds. It was truly a family affair but mostly for the men and the boys. Not too many women and girls were involved in hunting in those days. The ladies were involved primarily in the cooking once the birds had been shot and cleaned.

Times have changed and these days you are apt to see women and young girls show up anytime there is a good dove shoot. Now don’t get the idea that I have a problem with females hunting because I don’t at all. One of my daughters spent many days in a deer stand and tromping in the woods with me. She fondly remembers those times just as I do.

I have hunted doves from Florida to Virginia and at each place I have hunted there have been some lasting memories. Many stories and memories came from those dove hunts.

I remember the first dove I harvested when I was about 5 years old. A dove lit on a power line and daddy gave me his gun and I sighted in the dove between the strains of a barbed wire fence. That old 12-gauge shotgun just about knocked me down but I got my first dove.

The mourning dove is the most widespread and abundant game bird in North America and has a range of over 11 million square miles. Despite being hunted all across North America it remains among the 10 most abundant birds in the United States due to its prolific breeding. It is that abundance that allows the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to allow the daily bag limit of 15 birds. Annually about 70 million doves are harvested by hunters in the United States alone.

Dove season offers a great time to introduce children to the sport of hunting. It is also a great time for fellowship with friends, to have some good food and a great opportunity to create some lasting memories. I still remember those sounds echoing across the dove field. Shouts from hunters like “dove at 1:00,” “dove coming in high,” “bird down” and “good shot son.” I sure miss those days and on this year’s opening day of dove season my thoughts will return to those memories. See you next week.