Leg bands are prizes among duck hunters. Often affixed to a hunter’s duck-call lanyard, these small metal rings taken from fallen waterfowl are a testament to hunting prowess and a symbol of conservation efforts between hunters and wildlife agencies.

Beginning Wednesday, Texas Parks & Wildlife will begin trapping and attaching leg bands on several thousand mourning dove as part of a larger national effort coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

White-winged dove will also be banded across the state and TPWD will be banding approximately 3,000 whitewings. Until about 20 years ago, hunters had to travel to the Rio Grande Valley or across the border to find white-wings, but habitat destruction and human encroachment have pushed the birds northward. Now, the birds can be found year-round in many Central Texas fields and back yards.

As white-wings continue to expand across the state, keeping tabs on these dove populations is becoming increasingly important. Only three states are consistently banding white-winged dove, with the Texas banding program being the most comprehensive.

Banding recoveries reveal migration patterns and give biologists information that will be used to determine future hunting regulations. Data collected so far indicate the following:

* Most banded mourning dove in Texas do not survive to see a second year and extremely few live past three years of age. The oldest mourning dove ever recovered in Texas was nine years old and the oldest mourner ever recovered was banded in Georgia and was an amazing 31 years old.

* Mourning dove shot in Texas come from 21 states including Texas, with the most out-of-state banded birds coming from Kansas, Iowa, Oklahoma and South Dakota. A few banded birds traveled all the way from Pennsylvania and Ohio.

* The oldest white-winged dove ever recorded in Texas was 17 years old and the oldest whitewing ever recovered was banded in Arizona and was 21 years old.

* White-winged doves banded in Texas have been recovered in four states including Texas, four countries, and one in international waters (oil rig). The farthest recovered white-winged dove banded in Texas originated in Hidalgo County and was recovered in Nicaragua, 1,242 miles from the original band site.

For Texas, the implications of dove management are significant considering the Lone Star State boasts fall dove populations in excess of 40 million birds and its 300,000 dove hunters harvest about 6 million birds annually or roughly 30 percent of all doves taken in the United States.

Dove hunting also has a major economic impact, contributing more than $300 million to the state economy. But, despite having more dove hunters than any other state and harvesting more birds than any other state, Texas has the lowest dove band recovery rate in the nation.

Unless they’re looking out for the bands, most dove hunters probably won’t notice them, according to Corey Mason, TPWD’s dove program leader, since dove bands are only about the size of a bead.

Free fishing day

Texas is one of the best places in the country for fishing, and Saturday, you can wet a line anywhere in the state for free.

As part of Celebrate National Fishing and Boating Week, residents and visitors alike will be able to fish anywhere in Texas without a license. However, normal regulations concerning catch size and quantity still apply.

The annual national event is coordinated by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and coincides with the TakeMeFishing nonprofit organization’s free fishing days throughout the United States.

To celebrate this year’s festivities, TakeMeFishing will be hosting a weeklong Facebook contest for “Memories on the Water” video submissions beginning Thursday. The video submission with the most “likes” at the end of the week will win.

For details on this contest and other information go to the takemefishing.org site, or for hosting information, go to the RBFF’s homepage.

Hunters, activists agree

It’s not often that hunters and animal rights groups sing the same song, but a recent video illustrating the cruelty of slaughterhouses has people in both camps disgusted.

The video shows workers using inhumane methods to kill calves before processing, which highlights hunters’ claims that killing animals quickly and in their natural environment is far more humane than techniques used in the feed lots and processing facilities that satisfy America’s meat tooth.

Granted, there are elements of the hunting industry that are just as offensive, like canned hunts and thrill-killers, but overall, hunters are respectful of the animals they shoot and eat.

Hunting responsibly is no more cruel than picking up dinner at a drive-through. After all, Americans hunted for food long before we depended on meat corporations to fill our plates.

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