Dove season opens, blue wings up next

Football season has started, and the most hunted bird, the dove, got the hunting season going on the traditional opening date, Sept. 1. The James A. Reed Wildlife Area near Lee's Summit, opened the season on dove Tuesday with hundreds of hunters on hand, but the dove numbers were down some from last year.

Hunting near Nevada, Robert Barnes, Lamar, had his limit of 12 birds within the first two hours of the opening.

"I was hunting a cut field near a farm pond and the birds kept coming in. It had my gun barrel hot from all the shooting. It took me almost a box of shells before I finally got the last bird," he said.

Waterfowl hunters will be focusing on the early teal season which is another 16 day season from Sept. 6 through Sept. 21.

Blue wing teal populations are forecast to be about the same as last year which was a mixed bag for hunters. In some areas of the state hunters reported good success, while in other spots hunters saw fewer birds.

Hunters at several of the waterfowl areas including Schell-Osage report teal have been using the area for several weeks.

Ken Davis, manager at Schell, said it may come as a surprise to hunters that their water conditions aren't as good as you would think after all the spring and early summer rains.

"We have teal on the area prior to September, but some of the pools are down" he said. "We look for a good season especially if we get some more rain. In some areas the low water may keep hunting success down, but where there are good water conditions the hunting should be good."

Lee Roberts, Chillicothe, hunts teal on a small Carroll County lake and said, "I was scouting the area for doves and saw more teal than I did last year at this time so I look for a very good hunt. There must have been 100 blue wings on the lake and it gave me a lot of encouragement for the season ahead."

Two St. Clair teal hunters, Bob Moore and Dave Sanders, hunted a spot near the Osage river where they have hunted for 12 years. Last year they had one of their best hunts ever when they limited out on teal and dove before noon.

"It was some of the best hunting for both birds that we had ever had. I hope for the same results this year," Sanders said.

About four million of the early migrants were on the breeding grounds this year and along with green wing teal the blue wing teal populations are holding up and a flight south this month should be similar to last season and maybe a little better.

Meanwhile, rail and snipe seasons along with dove season opened on Labor Day, but not very many Missouri hunters go after these small migrants although they offer some good early hunting where water conditions are good.

Rail hunters usually only go out one time because of the heat, knee deep weedy water and bugs. Most would agree that even getting a limit of 25 rail is barely enough for a good meal.

Although fishing is still going strong, hunting will take over the outdoor spotlight as we move into September.