Dove season is here but there are some considerations to keep in mind as to how a field of sunflowers or millet can be manipulated to legally attract these quick fliers.
Because they migrate across national, and sometimes international borders, doves are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and their harvest is managed at the federal level in the U.S.
Migratory birds cannot be hunted with the aid of bait or anywhere it is known, or should be reasonably known, that the area has been baited.
There are some keys to ensuring that your carefully managed dove fields fall within federal hunting regulations.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service defines baiting as the direct or indirect placing, exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering of salt, grain, or other feed that could serve as a lure or attraction for migratory game birds to, on, or over any areas where hunters are attempting to take them.
It is worth noting that the onus to know whether an area has been manipulated and considered baited falls onto individual hunters.
Baited areas are considered baited for 10 days following the complete removal of any salt, grain or any other substance considered bait.
It is illegal to hunt areas where grain has been harvested then redistributed in the same field, which would be considered baiting.
For dove field managers, fields that are mowed, disked or manipulated in other ways can be used for dove hunting as long as the grain is distributed solely as the result of the manipulation of an agricultural crop or other feed on the land grown and does not constitute baiting.
Additionally, top-sowed or aerially planted seeds as the result of a normal agricultural planting, including wildlife food plots, or normal soil stabilization practice are legal to hunt over.
Generally, top sowed grain must begin to sprout to hunt over however, many states have restrictions for wildlife food plots, that prohibit hunting if seeds aren’t planted before a certain timeframe, based on that state’s cooperative extension service recommendations.
Make sure you review and understand your state’s regulations regarding hunting over wildlife food plots. A best practice is to plant fields well before dove season to allow crops time to mature before manipulation.
A normal agricultural planting is a planting undertaken for the purpose of producing or gathering a crop. Normal plantings do not involve the placement of grain in piles or other concentrations.
Federal regulations on baiting and dove hunting can be found here.
Dove season dates in the Red Hills
Florida
September 27th – October 19th
November 8th – 30th
December 19th – January 31st
Daily limit- 15
Georgia
September 6th – October 12th
November 22nd – 30th
December 19th – January 31st
Daily limit- 15
The Hunter’s Responsibility
Hunters are responsible for determining whether or not a field is baited. Before hunting, you should:
- Familiarize yourself with Federal and State migratory game bird hunting regulations.
- Ask the landowner, your host or guide, and your hunting partners if the area has been baited.
- Suspect the presence of bait if you see doves feeding in a particular area in unusual concentrations or displaying a lack of caution.
- Look for grain or other feed in the area. Is it present solely as the result of an allowed normal agricultural operation? Where crops have been manipulated or harvested, look for the presence of grain that may not be related to the manipulation or harvest.
- Look closely for seed and grain on prepared agricultural fields. Is it present solely as the result of a normal agricultural planting or a planting for agricultural soil erosion control? Know what planting, harvesting, and other agricultural practices are recommended for the areas that you hunt.
- Abandon the hunt if you find grain or feed in an area and are uncertain about why it is there.
- Remember that the rules for hunting doves and waterfowl are not the same. Additional restrictions apply to waterfowl hunting.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
