Mourning dove banding is resuming in Outlook this year
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Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife biologist Ryan Williamson is once again in the full swing of trapping and banding this small game bird, which is a popular with Montana hunters, especially in September. This is the sixth year that Williamson has been helping to band doves in the Outlook area, and he is now over 1,100 birds banded.
Luckily, Williamson is not working alone…his four-year-old son Tosten has been a big help with setting traps, banding, and releasing birds. “It’s pretty cool when I can take my son to work and he helps me out,” says Williamson.
Mourning doves are one of the most widely distributed and abundant birds in North America and are also a popular game bird with hunting seasons established in 40 of the lower 48 states. As part of an effort to estimate population size, harvest rates and regulations, mourning doves are banded throughout the United States including within Montana’s Region 6.
“Banding mourning doves is the primary method to estimate population size and harvest rates for the species, and this in turn is used in the federal framework to establish dove hunting regulations for each state,” says Williamson, who is one of several folks who bands doves in Montana. “Doves are marked with metal leg bands containing a unique number and a website that hunters can use to report the band and in return, wildlife managers receive important information on the number of banded doves harvested and the locations and dates of harvest.”
“Recaptured birds and band numbers reported by hunters are the only way we know what happened to that bird and where that bird traveled,” Williamson went on. “By checking all harvested doves for bands and reporting banded doves, you can help manage this important migratory game bird.”
Williamson also says that reporting bands after harvesting goes for any banded bird. “I have used the website to report bands a few times and it’s very quick and easy. The story that band will tell can be very interesting.”
Sometimes Williamson encounters old friends. This year, Williamson captured a male dove that he first banded in 2014. “With an average life expectancy of around 1.5 years, and likely wintering in areas like Texas or Mexico, this bird has been making the long trip back and forth every year,” says Williamson, sounding amazed. “This is an old bird…even his male color is starting to fade. I can’t imagine what he has seen on his migration journeys, especially considering how many critters (and hunters) are trying to make a lunch of him along the way. It’s pretty cool to recapture him.”
Because some bands are very small, hunters can easily overlook them. Williamson reminds hunters to carefully check all harvested doves and waterfowl for the presence of a leg band. If you harvest a banded migratory bird, please report it by logging on to http://www.reportband.gov.
