Doves

[sharpstick]

Last April I was down in Antimony hunting Turkey and I noticed a large number of doves in town feeding on the ground and flying around. Now these are not the average Mourning Dove. These were bigger (almost the size of a pigeon) and in fact acted more like a pigeon. Anyway, since then I've noticed more of them around Utah and was wondering what they are. Does anyone know what type of Dove they are and if they are legal to hunt when the dove hunt starts? Are they new to Utah or am I just barely noticing them around. Hey, just thought someone on the forum would probably know the answer. Thanks for the input.

 

[Moondog]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-27-09 AT 09:51AM (MST)[p]You might be seeing the same ones we have here in Texas. They could be Eurasian doves. Bigger, sort of a mauve color. Most distinctive feature is a black collar running across the back of the neck.

Good news for us is that a non-native species, there is no bag limit.

 

[ARCHERYBUG]

We even have them in N.E. Nevada now.

 

[need4x4]

Check your states regulations please. Some states classify them differently.

 

[Castnshoot]

Eurasian doves, they are everywhere now. Most places you can shoot anytime and there is no limit. Only problem they taste like pigeon.

 

[Big_DD]

AS far as the Eurasian Doves in Utah, you can shoot an many as you want, whenever you want. The only problem is finding a spot to shoot them, they are city dwellers and live moslty in city limits.

 

[ktc]

Interesting. I noticed the same thing. One pair in the corrals eating dropped grain. I also asked about them to a couple of guys but never heard this response. They are neat looking birds and double the size of a dove? Maybe not quite?

 

[peakfreak]

I saw a dozen or so last week while I was scouting. Thought they were pigeons.

 

[Feleno]

i was curious about these as well. they seemed to just show up this year at the bird feeder in bunches and all over the neighborhood. neat looking birds.

 

[D13er]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-28-09 AT 11:39AM (MST)[p]this is why they are taking over....

this is from our local paper.....
"Mourning doves remain the most common dove species in the Valley, but more Eurasian collared doves are arriving every year on their northward migration.

Hunters need to differentiate between the two species because mourning doves count toward the daily bag (10 birds) and possession (20) limits while Eurasian collared doves do not.

There is no bag or possession limit for Eurasian collared doves, which were introduced into the Bahamas in the 1970s and have expanding their range ever since.

?Eurasian doves are considerably larger than mourning doves and fly more like a pigeon,? Fothergill said. ?They?re also lighter in color and have a squared-off tail. ?They?re pretty easy to spot once you see them.?

"
great post/pic, thanks for sharing

JB