2016 dove hunting management results

[dennishoddy]

Early 2016 some of us received a request to participate in a nationwide dove management from the Fish and Wildlife division of the Dept of the interior.
Hunters were asked to send in wings that would be used to determine age ratios. (Young of the year per adult)
I'm always game to do things like this, and I got the results yesterday.

 

[Dave70968]

Could you explain what this means from a management perspective? As I read it, it shows Oklahoma as having slightly fewer than 2 of this year's young per adult, which is ever-so-slightly less than the average for our management unit. Does that indicate an older flock? A lower birth rate? Is it healthy or cause for concern?

I'd imagine it also depends upon the context of the total population; am I correct in that? If so, do we have data on the population size?

This is definitely not my area of expertise, but I'd love to know more.

 

[dennishoddy]

Here is the cover letter that came with the report. I haven't visited the website yet.

 

[makeithappen]

That's pretty cool. I like seeing data like that. So we average almost 2 year old birds, via the survey?

 

[dennishoddy]

That's pretty cool. I like seeing data like that. So we average almost 2 year old birds, via the survey?

I think that's what it says. I'm going to visit the website tonight and see what the details are. Keep me out of the political forum for awhile. lol.

Here is a link if you don't want to type it all in.
https://www.fws.gov/birds/surveys-and-data/reports-and-publications/hunting-activity-and-harvest.php

Edit: Nationwide, the Service receives about 90,000 duck wings, 20,000 goose tails and wing tips, 10,000 dove wings, and 8,000 woodcock wings annually. Envelopes begin arriving at the collection sites in each flyway in September, soon after the hunting season starts in Alaska and the early Canada Goose season starts in the lower 48 states. When the parts arrive, they are sorted by species and stored in a freezer until late February. Within each flyway, state and federal biologists examine these parts in greater detail at events called wingbees. Data from wingbees provide estimates of the species, sex, and age composition of the harvest, in addition to supplying information on how harvest changes over space and time. These data from the Wing Surveys are important pieces of information used in waterfowl population models and help waterfowl managers set and evaluate hunting seasons.

 

[makeithappen]

That's cool. I'd never even heard of this program until you posted about it.

 

[dennishoddy]

That's cool. I'd never even heard of this program until you posted about it.

On the main website, there is a lot of past data from former hunting seasons, but this one is so new that the web pages are under construction and they are generating the data to set this year's season.