Dove Season Eve

I've been trying to come up with a joke that goes with the photograph I took earlier this week in my mother's backyard, but it's not happening.  I keet thinking, "A dove and a starling walk into a bar...." but, that's as far as I get.  Oh, well.

We used to never see Whitewing dove in the Texas Panhandle -- only Mourning dove.  Now, there are Whitewing, White tipped and Ringneck as well as Mourning dove.  The species are spreading and intermingling.  Dove season starts tomorrow for much of the state. 

When I was a kid it seemed that everyone wanted to hunt.  The problem for many was gaining access to properties on which to pursue the high-flying game birds.  Most of the farmers were open and willing to allow hunting as long as you were respectful of their property.  Many saw the birds as a pest that wanted to eat their ripened crops before they could be harvested.

One of my favorite places to hunt was a pecan orchard owned by a neighbor to my grandfather.  The dove would be out in the grain fields during the day but, would come into the orchard late in the afternoon to roost for the night.  It was a large orchard and you never knew where the birds would enter.  The best positions were at the corners so that you could see down two sides of the orchard.

Usually, we would spend some time walking between the rows of trees hoping to flush the birds.  It was a challenge to hit them in the brief moment it took for them to cross the narrow open space between the trees.  We tried our best not to shoot into the pecan trees themselves because it would knock the ripening nuts from the trees.  Occasionally a few leaves fell victim.

Where we live now is very different hunting than the open plains where I grew up.  Here, there are trees everywhere.  Fortunately, dove season starts at the end of what is usually the dry season so there is opportunity to hunt near water where the dove will come in for a drink.  To many that seems unsportsmanlike, but let me tell you, those birds are still flying up to 70 miles per hour and are great at using "cover" on their approach.  They will come "out-of-the-sun" or, from behind a line of trees.  They may be low or, they may be high.  They could give the best fighter pilots a few lessons on how to utilize land forms and natural structure for camouflage.

I laughed to myself in the middle of the night, this last day before season opens.  The reason?  It was raining.  It is still raining.  There will be water everywhere and the dove won't have to come into a water tank, or stock pond for a drink.  They will find it in many places.

It has been dry in much of the Texas Panhandle where Mom lives.  She commented that she didn't know why the birds were coming to the bird bath since she never put water in it.  I suggested it might catch some water from her sprinkler system that waters the yard.  Sure enough, the starling soon began to "take a bath" in the water as the dove looked on.  Maybe that's the joke:

A dove and a starling walk into a bar for a drink.  The starling immediately dives in and is having a good old time while the dove looks on.  The starling says, "Why aren't you enjoying yourself?  You not only can drink it, but you can splash around and cool off too!"  The dove says, "I'm waiting to see if you get shot first."

Okay, it wasn't much of a joke anyway....