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Steve Merlo: Fish and Game Commission approves 'no limit' Eurasian dove season
| Thursday, Aug 21 2008 6:35 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Aug 22 2008 8:51 AM
Nearly two years ago, I wrote a small column about the coast-to-coast invasion of the Eurasian Collared Dove and why immediate steps needed to be taken to eradicate them before their numbers steamrolled over our native game — and songbirds.
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The beautifully plumaged gray, russet and white colored bird, halfway in size between a mourning dove and a pigeon, has made its presence well known since then, and now threatens to replace our native bird populations.
Last season, dove hunters, the best wildlife managers there are, were stymied when the California Fish and Game Commission somehow missed addressing the invasive pest. Forced to include the colonizing Eurasians within the aggregate of their 10-bird limit of mourning doves, not much management of the collared birds took place.
This year, when dove season begins Sept. 1, bird hunters will be able to help stem the Eurasian tide. With the regular limit of 10 per day and 20 in possession for mourning doves still firmly in place, the Commission has also approved a no-limit, no-possession limit on Eurasians, Spotted, and Ringed Turtle Doves during the regular early and winter seasons.
While the recommended regulations will not take effect until approved by the California Office of Administrative Law, the Commission usually gets what the Commission wants. Hopefully, when the season opens, hunters will be able to help take a big bite out of the burgeoning populations of the unwanted pest. Unfortunately, I think the powers that control bird hunting waited far too long, thanks to our government's snail-paced style of legislature — but hell, that's the way it's always been.
The silver lining, however bleak the prognosis for the immediate removal of the Eurasians, means that sportsmen can add a new game bird to their "can hunt" list, providing an exiting new challenge to wing shooting. The birds are fairly large, smooth flyers that are deceptively fast and eat well on the table. They also decoy well.
Kern County hunters are also reminded that only mourning, Eurasian, turtle and spotted doves will be legal on opening day. Other species, like the rarely seen Inca, Ruddy and Ground Doves, remain protected and may not be taken or harvested. Also, white-wing doves may only be taken in Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties, even though not that many ever venture this far north.
2008-2009 WATERFOWL REGULATIONS
Waterfowl hunters in the Southern San Joaquin Valley Zone will be the recipients of a 102-day split season running from Oct. 4 through Oct. 26, then reopening on Nov. 8 and running for 79 more days until Jan. 25. Bag limits will remain basically the same as last year, with a few changes.
Duck limits will hold at 7-birds, with one-pintail, zero (0) canvasbacks and seven mallards, only one of which may be a hen. Scaup season will be delayed until Nov. 8, then run until the end of the regular season. Limits on the teal-like bluebills have also been slashed to only 2 birds. Possession limits are double the daily take for all species.
The big news for 2008-2009 comes in the increase in goose limits. Hunters may now take a total of eight geese per day with double possession limits. Restrictions include six white geese, four white-fronted geese (specks), four large Canada Geese and six Small Canada Geese, all in the eight-goose-per-day aggregate. Knowledgable hunters, if nerves permit, could feasibly take four large and four small Canada Geese in a day, making hunting over decoys a very worthwhile adventure, providing the birds can be located in appreciative numbers.
The season for the big birds runs from Oct. 18 through Jan. 25, 2009.
Once again, these regulations were approved by the California F+G Commission on Aug. 8, but will not be effective until final approval of the Calif. Office of Administrative Law.
EARLY MOUNTAIN QUAIL SEASON
By the time the special Mountain Quail season rolls around, I'm usually too busy smacking doves to remember to drop sportsmen a line regarding the hunt. The special Mountain Quail hunt in Tulare and other counties north, (excluding Kern) begins on Sept. 13 and runs until the general quail season begins in October.
And remember, this special season is for Mountain Quail only, a distinct Western species. In other words, just because one finds a quail in the hills doesn't mean it's a Mountain Quail.
For those not familiar with the beautiful russet-barred and brown bird with the two-inch-long top-knot I suggest getting a book on quail identification. Most Mountain Quail live at elevations well above 4,000-feet, but one can find their precocious cousins, the Valley Quail, occasionally mixed in with the slightly larger birds.
Limits are generous at 10 Mountain Quail per day and 20 in possession.