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Dove hunting draws thousands o exans to the eld each year or the kicko o theannual all hunting season. o increase dove harvest, many hunters engage in preseasonscouting to determine yways and bird concentrations over natural eeding areas andwater sources. Over the past several years, decoys have become used more widely to enticebirds to y within shooting distance.Many hunters go to the extra eort o establishing crops in an attempt to create theideal dove hunting location. However, because it is the hunter who is responsible ordetermining whether a eld has been seeded legally, hunters need to know and make sureareas they hunt are in accordance with exas State and Federal laws prohibiting baiting.Hunters can also benet rom understanding ways that seed-bearing crops can be legally planted to attract doves.
Remember that the rules or hunting doves are not the same asor waterowl. Additional restrictions apply to waterowl hunting.
The problem: baiting
Doves are migratory birds, and dove hunting is thereore regulated by the FederalMigratory Bird reaty Act, which specically prohibits baiting. Under ederal law, baiting is
the direct or indirect placing, exposing, depositing,distributing, or scattering o salt, grain, or other eed thatcould serve as a lure or attraction or migratory game birdsto, on, or over any areas where hunters are attempting to takethem. [itle 50, Code o Federal Regulations, Part 20.11 (k)]
Further, the ederal law denes a baited area as:
. . . any area on which salt, grain, or other eed has beenplaced, exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered, i thatsalt, grain, or other eed could serve as a lure or attractionor migratory game birds to, on, or over areas where huntersare attempting to take them. Any such area will remain abaited area or 10 days ollowing the complete removal o all such salt, grain, or other eed. [itle 50, Code o FederalRegulations, Part 20.11 (j)]
Larry A. Redmon and Jim C. Cathey*
* State Extension Forage Specialist and Extension Wildlie Specialist,The Texas A&M System
Normal Agricultural Operationsand Dove Hunting in Texas
E-5696/09
Figure 1. Doves are migratorybirds protected by the FederalMigratory Bird Treaty Act.
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The conusion: What are normal agriculturaloperations, and what is baiting?
Farmers and ranchers have adopted variousplanting strategies over the years, most with varyingdegrees o success. Some o these strategies, whileproviding acceptable stand establishment, may be viewed as an operation that leads to baiting o doves.Regarding what is to be considered a normalagricultural operation versus an operation designedsolely to bait birds, ederal law states:
In the course o normal arming and ranchingoperations, some agricultural seed is leexposed on the ground and can serve as “bait”or migratory birds, including doves. I seed isle out in the open as a “normal agriculturaloperation,” the law considers this acceptableto hunt over. A problem arises, however, asto what constitutes a “normal agriculturaloperation.”For the purpose o the Migratory Bird reaty Act “normal agricultural operation” meansa normal agricultural planting, harvesting,post-harvest manipulation, or agriculturalpractice, that is conducted in accordance withocial recommendations o State ExtensionSpecialists o the Cooperative State Research,Education, and Extension Service o the U.S.Department o Agriculture. [itle 50, Code o Federal Regulations, Part 20.11 (h)]
In exas, the ocial recommendations areproduced by the exas AgriLie Extension Service.Recommendations on planting practices that includesuggested species, planting methods, and plantingdates are based on data obtained rom exas AgriLieResearch scientists, exas AgriLie Extension Servicespecialists, and others. Although exas AgriLieExtension Service specialists do not dictate howarming operations are conducted, they do makerecommendations or practices that are designed tooer the greatest potential or establishment success.When it comes to establishing winter pastureor livestock, certain practices regarding plantingmethod and planting date have been used success-ully or several years. Notable among these practicesis that seed o small grains—such as wheat, oat, rye,barley, and triticale—should be incorporated into thesoil.Tis incorporation may be accomplished by usinga grain drill on either a prepared seedbed or by sod-seeding into a short, existing, warm-season perennialgrass sod. On a prepared seedbed, seed may bebroadcast and ollowed with either a light disking ordragging operation. Broadcast seed should be appliedat a somewhat higher seeding rate than with a drill.Annual ryegrass or orage legume seed may also be broadcast onto a prepared seedbed or intoan existing warm-season perennial grass sod. On aprepared seedbed, seed should be lightly harrowed ordragged, or a broadcast operation should be ollowedwith a cultipacker. I overseeding into a short,warm-season perennial grass sod, help ensure betterstand establishment by light disking either beore orimmediately afer seeding.I these recommended practices are used, a ewseeds will always be lef exposed, but as noted abovein the description o baiting, this is entirely legal.iming is also critical or the successulestablishment o winter pasture. Hunters shouldplant about 6 to 8 weeks beore the historical rstrost date. Planting earlier exposes the cool-seasonseedlings to adverse heat and possible drought withpotentially catastrophic eects.I the goal is to attract doves to ensure a goodhunting season, it is absolutely legal to establisha seed-bearing crop beore hunting season andmanipulate that eld in many ways that will attractlarge numbers o birds. Regarding this practice,ederal law states:
Normal agricultural planting, harvesting,or post-harvest manipulation means aplanting or harvesting undertaken or thepurpose o producing and gathering a crop, ormanipulation aer such harvest and removalo grain, that is conducted in accordance withocial recommendations o State ExtensionSpecialists o the Cooperative State Research,Education, and Extension Service o the U.S.Department o Agriculture. [itle 50, Code o Federal Regulations, Part 20.11 (g)]
Manipulation, as dened by ederal law is:
Te alteration o natural vegetation oragricultural crops by activities that include butare not limited to mowing, shredding, disking,rolling, chopping, trampling, attening,
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burning, or herbicide treatments. Te termmanipulation does not include the distributingor scattering o grain, seed, or other eed aerremoval rom or storage on the feld wheregrown. [itle 50, Code o Federal Regulations,Part 20.11 9(l)]
Beginning in March each year, various seed-bearing crops can be planted
or the sole purpose o attracting doves
(able 1). Also, beore dove season,strips or elds can be mowed or disked to attractbirds. Te strips or elds could be mowed at any timeduring the hunting season, i desired, to continue toscatter seed.Tis practice helps maintain an adequatepopulation o doves throughout the hunting season.Depending on the soil type, some seed-bearing cropsare better suited or certain areas than others.Tus, rather than participate in questionablewinter pasture establishment practices that may be viewed as baiting, you can legally use spring andsummer seed-bearing crops to provide the seed-bearing crops desired by doves.
Figure 2. Browntop millet is a seed-bearing crop that can beused to attract doves.Table 1. Seed-bearing crops or attracting doves.CropPlanting dateSeeding rate
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(lb/ac)
Browntop milletMarch–September20–30BuckwheatMarch40–50Dove proso milletMarch–September20–30German milletMarch–August15–20Grain sorghumApril–June10–20 Japanese milletMarch–September20–30Partridge peaMarch–September 5–7Pearl milletApril–September25–30Sunfower(Peredovik)April10–15WGF grain sorghumApril–June 8–10White-grain miloApril–June10–20White proso milletMarch–September20–30
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Broadcast seeding rates. I drilled, reduced by 50–60%.
The hunter’s responsibility
It has ofen been stated that “ignorance o the lawis no excuse.” Tis is especially true or dove hunters.It is the responsibility o the individual hunter toknow the law and to be aware o the circumstancessurrounding each hunting opportunity.Federal law states that the hunter is responsibleor determining whether or not a eld is baited.Beore hunting, address the ollowing points to helpensure a legal hunt:▶ Familiarize yoursel with ederal and statemigratory game bird hunting regulations.▶ Ask the landowner, your host or guide, andyour hunting partners i the area has beenbaited.▶ Suspect the presence o bait i you see doveseeding in a particular area in unusualconcentrations or displaying a lack o caution.▶ Look or grain or other eed in the area. Is theseed there solely as the result o an allowednormal agricultural operation?▶ Where crops have been manipulated orharvested, look or the presence o grain thatmay be unrelated to the manipulation orharvest.▶ Look closely or seed and grain on preparedagricultural elds. Is the seed there solely asthe result o a normal agricultural planting oror agricultural soil erosion control?
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