The Sept. 1 dove season opener is rapidly winging our way and it’s shaping up to be a very good year, but keep your fingers crossed for the hordes of fat white-winged doves don’t migrate south.

“I am seeing lots of fat white-winged dove this year, but there is no guarantee they will still be here on opening day,” says Mike Rabe, the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s migratory bird biologist.

Overall, Rabe says the state has good dove numbers carrying over from last season and above-average winter and spring precipitation this year. “We should see another very good dove season in September. However, the recent drying trend and sputtering monsoons could have birds focused more around agricultural areas and dependable water sources.”

The Tuesday dove opener this year should reduce some of the opening-day demand, so it may be worth taking a day off for some wing shooting opportunities. Nevertheless, look for that to push over to Saturday and Sunday going into the Labor Day weekend. Dove hunting is an Arizona tradition with more than 35,000 hunters participating each year.

Be sure to get your shotgun shells now. The ammunition demand is outpacing supply.

Also, even more than in past years, scouting is essential. Your dove hunting location last year could be a subdivision this year, or more realistically, fields that were sitting fallow last year might have crops this year. Check it out in advance.

The early dove season runs from Sept. 1-15 with half-day hunts in the south zone and full-day hunts in the north zone and statewide for youth hunters 17 and under. The late season offers all-day hunting statewide from Nov. 20, 2009 through Jan. 3, 2010.

“Those who go scouting a few days before their hunt will have the best success. Mourning doves are very mobile, strong flyers, and even if they were recently using a sorghum field, it doesn’t mean they will be there a week later,” says Rabe. “Of course a windy and rainy monsoon storm the week before the opener, like we had last year, could disperse birds throughout the desert range and have flight numbers dispersed and sporadic.”

Where to go
If you are a novice hunter, or just new to the state, there are a number of organized hunts offering mentoring to help you get started. To get the latest details on dove events visit www.azgfd.gov/hunting . Here are a few to get you started:

• Sept. 1-3: Habitat fundraiser dove hunt (fee required), Texas Hill Farms, Roll (east of Yuma)
• Sept. 5-6: Juniors-only dove hunt, Robbins Butte Wildlife Area, near Buckeye (pancake and sausage breakfast provided by Chandler Rod and Gun Club)
• Sept. 5: Juniors-only dove hunt, Texas Hill Farms, Roll (east of Yuma)
• Sept. 12: New hunters only dove hunt, East Valley location to be determined

Furthermore, the department is teaming up with local sportsmen’s organizations with a grant program to host mentored hunting camps throughout the 2009-10 season to teach new hunters how to hunt dove, quail, rabbit, squirrel, and other game animals, to learn more visit www.azgfd.gov/hhwg.