FRIO COUNTY, Texas – For the first time in Texas history, dove season opened on the same day across the state on Sept. 1.
In previous years, dove season in Texas’ southern hunting zone opened two weeks after September started because of concerns that mourning doves could still be nesting or raising young in late summer and early fall.
That changed this year, when the southern zone joined the rest of Texas for the state’s first-ever uniform dove season opener. What’s more exciting is that this earlier statewide opener is scheduled to continue for the next two years.
The decision was initiated by a 20-year review of dove population numbers conducted by Texas Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Olivia Kost, a wildlife biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife, said the findings of the review concluded that breeding and hatch timings in South Texas were not significantly different from other parts of the state or country.
“When there’s rain, we get vegetation growth, and when we get vegetation growth, we get good dove food,” Kost said.
This year’s spring and summer rainfall helped create an abundance of food and contributed to rising dove populations.
This is the third consecutive year that dove numbers have increased, Kost said. Population estimates by the Texas Parks and Wildlife indicate there are nearly 37 million doves in Texas, including an estimated 13 million white-winged doves — the highest number on record.
The statewide opener also gives local hunters more opportunities to stay closer to home instead of traveling to another hunting zone. That’s expected to bring an economic boost to South Texas, which is the only place in the country where hunters can pursue mourning, white-winged and white-tipped doves during the same season.
Dove hunting guide Carson Neal recommends hunters should set up near bodies of water, especially now that the environment has started drying out.
“Since it’s dry, they have to find somewhere with water, and so we like to set up next to the water,” he said.
The spring and summer rainfall also contributed to widespread food supply, which could mean doves are more spread out across the region, potentially requiring hunters to search for birds in different areas.
While searching for the best hunting spots, Neal said he’s also keeping safety a priority for his hunters.
“You want to make sure that you’re not sitting directly across the tank from somebody else so that if a bird flies between you, you won’t be shooting at it and be shooting at the other person at the same time by accident,” he said.
Before heading into the field, hunters should make sure their licenses and permits are up to date. Requirements include a hunting license, migratory bird endorsement and, when hunting on public land, an annual public hunting permit.
Daily bag limits vary among the northern, central, and southern hunting zones and between counties. Hunters should check Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Outdoor Annual app for dove and other hunting regulations.
Hunters are also encouraged to complete the Texas Parks and Wildlife harvest survey. Data collected through the survey helps wildlife officials monitor dove populations and make decisions about future hunting seasons.
There are two public-access hunting units in southern Bexar County for white-winged dove hunting.
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