Сухая погода и жара снизили численность голубей в Техасе, но сезон обещает быть успешным благодаря миграции птиц с севера

Off And Running | Dove season is a hit or miss Published 5:14 pm Friday, September 4, 2026 POTOSI — By the end of the middle of July the area had received almost a year’s total rainfall, but then someone turned the spigot off and bumped the thermometer up with temperatures reaching as high as 110. In no time at all Texas’ Big Country went from a lush dove paradise to a scorched earth with sunflowers few and far between, and surprisingly what was there were still yellow when outfitters came through to shred fields for hunting. That left Tuesday’s opening morning a roll of the dice. “We still have birds, but in places where we would normally have a thousand when conditions were good, we have 300 hundred. It is a struggle to find fields for big groups,” said longtime outfitter Dusty Greaves of Rock House Ridge in Coleman. That led Hayes Caldwell and I to a field just southeast of Abilene, a field I have hunted in past years with good success. Typically, the birds are attracted to the field by waist-high sunflowers after roosting in the mesquites and oaks that surround it. This morning was different. There were sunflowers, but they were sparse across the field. Still enough to attract some birds, but not enough for a chili red hot shoot. At first light I was upbeat when five mourning doves flew in from the east and sat down in my decoy. Unfortunately, they came in from behind and with just barely enough light to identify them they slipped by unscathed. It did wake me up though. However, the main event did not live up to the preview, at least where I was. Where I was sitting the birds were not really coming to feed. Instead, they were more passing over the field one direction or the other as if they were looking for other spots to feed. Any shots I had early were Hail Mary’s, and with a Franchi over/under 20-gauge and one-ounce, No. 8 shot any time I connected was as much luck as skill. It was not until late in the morning flight that I finally figured out the birds were dropping in to feed, and where they were headed out. I finished with six. Caldwell picked a better spot, and not only did he have birds working low, and into his decoys. Also shooting a 20, he ended up the morning with a respectable 10 birds. Not to be concerned, in recent years hunting success has flip-flopped in the area with afternoon hunts becoming more successful than morning outings. Not sure if there is any rhyme or reason, but that is what Greaves has observed. That was the case. Moving to a field in Coleman County that was thick with ripened sunflowers, we both made quick work of finishing our first day’s limit. The difference from the morning hunt was tremendous. Surprisingly, when we arrived in the field at 4, birds were already out feeding even though the afternoon temperature was 101. Unlike the morning, the birds were not flying high over the field. Instead, they were coming in and leaving just over the two-foot-tall sunflowers. Also, while there were some singles and doubles, there were also groups of five or more, meaning there were plenty of targets. However, a decent afternoon wind added some speed to those coming from the southwest. For North Texas this could be an interesting season for the Cross Timbers region. When the first cool weather comes pushing the birds on their southern migration it could be a while before new birds backfill in large numbers. As dry as the region is, the Panhandle is in even worse conditions, adding to that Texas Parks and Wildlife Department dove bird counts are down in the region. The good news is that Kansas is reporting good numbers of doves this season, and the same cooler weather that pushes out birds in North Central Texas will be pushing birds down from Oklahoma, Kansas and other states to the north. The North zone will close Nov. 8 and then reopen Dec. 18-Jan. 7 for the winter season. The Central zone will close Oct. 25 and reopen Dec. 11-Jan. 14, while the South zone closes Oct. 25, and then open Dec. 18-Jan. 21 for the winter season.