The fall is coming, even if it doesn’t feel like it outside.
In less than two months, dove hunters will take to the fields. Teal hunters will be about two weeks behind them.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service SRC has approved the 2012-2013 Texas early migratory game bird seasons, including a 70-day season and 15-bird daily bag statewide for dove, a 16-day early season statewide for teal and 16-day early season for Canada geese in the Eastern Goose Zone.
Texas dove season in the North and Central Dove Zones will run from Saturday, Sept. 1 through Wednesday, Oct. 24 and reopen Saturday, Dec. 22 through Sunday, Jan. 6, with a 15-bird daily bag and not more than two white-tipped doves.
The South Zone dove season will run Friday, Sept. 21 through Sunday, Oct. 28, reopening Saturday, Dec. 22 through Tuesday, Jan. 22 with a 15-bird daily bag and not more than two white-tipped doves.
The Special White-winged Dove Area will be restricted to afternoon-only (noon to sunset) hunting the first two full weekends in September running from Sept. 1-2 and 8-9 and reopen when the regular South Zone season begins on Friday, Sept. 21 through Sunday, Oct. 28 and again from Saturday, Dec. 22 through Friday, Jan. 18.
The Special White-winged Dove Area season takes four of the allowable 70 days, so when the regular season opens, this area must close four days earlier than the rest of the South Zone. During the early two weekends, the daily bag limit is 15 birds, to include not more than four mourning doves and 2 white-tipped doves. Once the general season opens, the aggregate bag limit will be 15 with no more than 2 white-tipped doves.
The early teal season will run Sept. 15-30 statewide with a daily bag limit of four teal. The early Canada goose season will also run Sept. 15-30 in the East Goose Zone with a bag limit of three Canada geese. The possession limit is twice the daily bag limit.
