Dove Hunters We Need Your Help
Mourning Dove Banding Project
Mourning
doves are one of the most widely distributed and abundant birds
in North America. Mourning doves are also a popular game bird
with hunting seasons established in 37 of the lower 48 states.
There are more mourning doves harvested than all other migratory
game bird species combined. In Oklahoma, an estimated 24,600
hunters harvested more than 480,000 mourning doves in 2007.
Because of the importance of the mourning dove as a migratory game bird, wildlife managers require certain information from which to guide harvest management decisions. Information on dove survival and harvest rates are keys to understanding the effects of annual hunting regulations on mourning dove populations. Banding is the primary tool used to obtain this information
This summer, Oklahoma along with all other states in the
Central Management Unit (CMU), will be participating in a
nationwide mourning dove banding program. The objectives of this
program are to determine mourning dove harvest rates, estimate
annual survival, and provide information on the geographical
distribution of the harvest.
Doves will be marked with metal leg bands containing a unique
number and a website that hunters can use to report the band. In
return, wildlife managers receive important information on the
number of banded doves harvested and location and date of
harvest. More than 14,000 doves will be trapped and banded
yearly in the 14 states of the CMU.
In Oklahoma, a number of dove banding sites will be established
using wire funnel traps baited with grain to capture mourning
doves. Banding sites will be pre-baited for a period of time in
early summer to get doves accustomed to using a trapping site
and then traps are set in late summer and actual banding
commences. Doves enter the traps in search of the placed grain
through funnel openings and cannot find their way back out
because of the traps design. Traps are regularly checked and
trapped doves are removed and carefully examined to determine
their age and sex based upon feather color and patterns of
feather replacement and wear. Doves are then banded with U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service bands inscribed with unique numbers
and the website and immediately released.
Hunters
are a critical link in this mourning dove banding study. By
checking all harvested doves for bands, and reporting banded
doves, you help us manage this important migratory game bird
resource. Because dove bands are very small, hunters can easily
overlook them. We are asking dove hunters to carefully check all
doves harvested for the presence of a leg band. If you harvest a
banded mourning dove please report it by logging on to
http://www.reportband.gov/RECFORM.CFM.
Banded doves may also be reported by phone by calling
1-800-327-BAND (2263). Hunters can keep the band and will be
provided a certificate of appreciation that identifies who
banded the bird, the age and sex of the bird, and the date and
location where the bird was banded.