"The lack of recoveries in South Carolina of doves banded in other states combined with the high percentage of recoveries in South Carolina of birds banded here indicates that most of our harvest comes from resident birds," Dukes said. "This suggests that as long as we take care of our birds we should be in good shape."

Dukes is optimistic that dove banding will become a common management tool in future years. He said as additional data is collected, it will be used to refine population models and population estimates as well as improve the index of productivity using wings from hunter-killed doves.

To aid with the study, all hunters are urged to look for banded doves from the birds they harvest, and report bands to the (800) 327-BAND number.

BEST BETS FOR 2005
There are over four-dozen public dove fields available to Palmetto State hunters. They are a result of federal, state, county and private land partnerships in over 30 counties across the state. You should be able to find a good field not too far from where you live.

While there are all kinds of factors that determine whether a limit of doves fly over your dove bucket on opening day, a look back at the previous season can provide some help in choosing a good hunt.

"Overall, hunter success last season was down slightly from the 2003-04 season when you combine the data for all of our public dove fields," Dukes said. "The number of doves per hunter fell from 3.46 birds to 2.94."

For those dove hunters who might have a short memory, the reason for the decline is very straightforward.

"I would attribute the decline to the series of tropical storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and torrential rains that occurred in the month prior to the opening day of dove season," Dukes concluded. "The storms had the devastating effect of dispersing birds and contributing to poor field-feeding conditions for doves.

"Many crops were destroyed outright," Dukes continued. "Other crops deteriorated from too much moisture, while others were flattened to soak in fields. There were even some public dove fields that were completely underwater. Not only did these conditions happen on our fields but also private fields, which only magnified the problem of dispersing birds."

Doves prefer bare ground or ground with very little weedy growth for feeding. Short of destroying crops, the increased moisture also affected where doves could feed.

"All of the rain also prompted a secondary growth of weeds," Dukes explained. "Normally, managers could mow or disk any weeds that sprouted, but most fields were too muddy for equipment. So even where food was still available, the doves couldn't get to it to feed very well.

"It seemed everyone had doves about two weeks before the season opened, and then the rains came and the birds vanished."

A look at two perennial public dove field favorites indicates the severity of the rains. Lake Wallace public dove field in Marlboro County declined from 8.24 doves per hunter in 2003 to 2.72 during the 2004 season. Canal WMA in Berkeley County shared a similarly drastic decline, falling from 5.82 doves per hunter to 1.77.

"These two areas have traditionally supported excellent dove hunts," Dukes said. "You can see by looking at their numbers what an impact the rains had."

Hurricane Gaston dumped nearly 12 inches of rain alone on Canal WMA right before the season started.

When deciding which public dove fields to hunt this season, there are a few things to keep in mind.