USFWS dove "coo" counts are in....

[Aging Baby Boomer]

For a few days I've been trying to digest the information in the 2008 USFWS dove report. Seems that the mourning dove's population status depends on which of their surveys you take more seriously.....

For the Eastern Management Unit (which includes us in SC), the long-term trend in birds seems to be unchanged if you consider the call count survey. However the breeding bird survey method, which is based on more data and a larger sample size, shows a statistically-significant increase in the long-term population numbers.

Based on HIP information, the number of doves bagged in the EMU for the last five seasons is estimated as follows:

2003-2004 8,198,100
2004-2005 7,712,000
2005-2006 9,793,000
2006-2007 8,155,400
2007-2008 8,908,400

What does it all mean? Are we overharvesting / underutilizing the resource? I can't tell.

Thoughts? Or does anybody want to start the top-sewn wheat discussion again?!

[HuntinCosta]

Has the lack of hurricanes during nesting helped, or has the presence of the drought hurt worse?

[JABIII]

Top seeding debate please...

My personal coo count has doubled from 1 limit to 2 limits under my bird feeders.

[Turd Ferguson]

I had 4 pairs in Palm trees in my yard that had successful hatches-
Dang kid of mine was wanting to shoot em in the front yard.

[Moatsy]

storms do kill more than we do... and doves can fly to water and food so the drought is not an issue. I think they are undercounting but I have no problem with it.

[Mergie Master]

My Indian ancestors counted coo!

[Candor]

yeah but your direct line ancestors probably couldn't count more than 10 unless they left their moccasins at home. lol.

[Mergie Master]

yeah but your direct line ancestors probably couldn't count more than 10 unless they left their moccasins at home. lol.

I have you know I can count to 20 with my shoes off...21....if I'm naked!

[Sportin' Woodies]

23 if its warm out!

[Sportin' Woodies]

last year was the driest year in recent history. dont even think we had wind or rain from july til dove season.
it was also my best dove season.

prob is drought hit this year before anything planted after may1 to germinate. got sunflowers in the ground planted mid may that still have the planter tire tracks looking like i planted yesterday.

[Mergie Master]

Doves die easy. I have read that due to their metabolism and high body temps that if a dove doesn't feed for a whole day and the outside temps drop to 45 degrees it will die on the roost. That's probably why during the late season they get so kamikaze to get into a field in the late afternoon.

[Downeast]

I think we have killed a lot of birds that way in January. Keep them stirred up and out of the fields for most of the day. The old saying "don't eat enough to keep a bird alive" is untrue. Many birds have to eat just about their own body weight everyday to survive.