Thanks.
Will you burn the field again before dove season opens or do you just burn in the Spring?
Locally, early season, most doves crops are almost entirely full of giant ragweed seeds. I like the taste of the giant ragweed seeds myself. They taste better than and somewhat similar to sunflower seeds. Later in the season, the doves here are mostly full of corn. Right now the doves are thick in the just harvested wheat fields. I wish they were open to hunt now, because hunting the wheat fields would be great sport and fun.
Keith
All our fields are harrowed right before quail season starts (mid Nov) mainly to get the birds out of them and in the “quail woods”. They are allowed to grow until the next harrowing, never burned. Some are ragweed, some are partridge pea, some are just natural vegetation.
The only burning in the “Fall” is the dove field and maybe small pines that aren’t leased out for pine straw. Most of our young pines are leased out though. The manager talked the owner into leasing those out and it’s a win win deal. They keep them sprayed for no vegetation and easy pine straw removal and it pushed the quail out which helps us out. When the straw is removed it’s basically bare ground and easy seed access. We don’t burn those areas while they’re under contract.
As far as dove are concerned. Imagine all that field in nothing but browntop millet and all that seed on the deck. The first year we just absorbed the cost to get the birds in…no hunting. The next year we started hunting. This is year 4 or 5 I believe. We generally have some real good hunts. Opening weekend and the next weekend are the only two hunts we have. If it stays dry and the seed doesn’t sprout we may have just a family/friend hunt on an off weekend during quail season.
