TodayOpinion: Try finding doves near sunflowers
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Article RatingWhen I sold farm machinery, several of my customers hosted dove shoots on their farms in Delaware. These events were by invitation, and were formal shoots that included afternoon picnics and after-shoot parties in the farmyards.
For some reason, it was never that convenient for me to take time off and be there during the shoots, since dove season falls at the beginning of harvest season and it was a busy time. I did manage to roam around with a few customers as they prepared for the big event.
If you farm or, for that matter, have a large yard with tall trees for shade, you know that crops from corn or soybeans or even grass doesn't grow as well in the shade. Farmers with fencerows or wood lots planted anywhere from six to 16 rows of sunflowers along fencerows and the shady sides of woodlots, knowing the normal row-crops wouldn't yield as much crop.
Instead of harvesting the few sunflower rows, they would use a rotary mower to mow the flowers, attracting huge numbers of doves to the fallen seeds. By stationing shooters along flight paths, their guests would get plenty of shooting.
Some folks might consider this a baiting practice but it falls within acceptable practices by the U.S. Fish and Wild Life Service, which manages migratory birds.
Most of us can't plant rows of sunflowers, then mow them off, but we can search out farm fields in our area where doves find plenty of fallen seeds and set up shooting stands along flight paths. Look for fields where farmers have recently chopped their field corn off for silage. Even the best harvesting tools leave kernels of corn on the ground as they grind up the corn stalks.
Doves find the kernels quickly and flock to the new food source. Just remember, new fields are opening up every sunny day and doves shift to fields with the most food.
I don't really have all the answers about doves but they need lots of seeds from either weed fields or freshly chopped cornfields. They need a supply of water, especially in the late afternoon just before flying to roost and they need a communal roosting area.
Orchards have always been popular with doves, but since the processors have been charging orchard owners if shot shell pellets are found in their apples, most orchards have closed the door to dove hunters. Instead, look for mature woodlots with large trees especially evergreens and set up along the flyway to the roost.
Doves are dark meat and some folks prefer the breast of grouse, pheasant and wild turkey to the meat of doves or woodcock. To be honest I do, too, but I like dove for a meal or two. Most of the time, I simply breast out the meat, then wrap it in a piece of bacon held tight with a toothpick. On a hot grill, I cook them until the outsides are brown. The bacon helps keep the meat moist but overcooking will dry out even bacon-wrapped dove breasts.
