Palouse Outdoors:Eurasian Collared Doves Offer a Fine Early Upland Hunt

The raspy "cuh coo co" calls of Eurasian collared doves could be heard in every direction. It was 5:30 a.m. It's an absurd hour to be afield chasing doves, but August heat makes the birds lazy. The first couple of hours of dawn are the most productive.

Being surrounded by birds prompted me to hole up beneath a pine aand rose bush on the edge of an opening where I could wait for doves to fly through. Pass-shooting is a standard technique for mourning doves where the hunter finds a water source, food source, and tree line or power line near the other two in which to sit and wait for doves to pass by. Experience suggests this method is less effective for collared doves because they behave differently than mourning doves.

Mourning doves tend to select perches near their food and water sources and fly back and forth between them. Conversely, collared doves fly in circular patterns among trees and chase one another. My observation suggests they often stick to mating pairs, and the female largely dictates their sky dance as she tries to avoid harassment. Therefore, still-hunting in full camouflage among trees with a mix of cover and food sources is a solid strategy.

A cat-like "rah-rah" sound from over my left shoulder grabbed my attention: a collard dove announcing its approach for landing. Spinning around, I caught a glimpse of the bird dropping down through the trees opposite my pine shelter. With a swift mount of the over/under, I collected my first dove of the morning.

The dove settled into a bed of orange pine boughs, and the trees erupted with a flurry of circling doves. In the right scenario, the first shot can lead to an action-packed several minutes of doves zipping through openings left and right. A semi-automatic or double-gun with shell ejectors is priceless for fast and furious wingshooting. However, on this morning, I was hidden in heavy cover, which the birds avoided.

After the birds settled down, I sneaked toward a calling male, keeping an ear and eye open for other doves that might randomly appear. Small sticks and dry weeds snapped underfoot as I cautiously ducked and crawled beneath trees and through myriad small openings.

Black vultures with naked red heads circled ominously overhead. Ospreys perched atop dead trees where they screeched and pulled morsels from their morning catch. California quail called from the various brushy areas about the property. Mule deer roused from deadfall hideaways, wary and confused by the sound of my footfalls.

A dove pair shot through a gap ahead and vanished. Their calls drifted on the breeze, but they never circled back. Easing ever closer, I surmised they had seen me and continued on their way.

Making a left and ducking beneath a thorny locust branch spooked a bird from a nearby juniper. The fleeing bird spooked a collared dove feeding among the branches of a deadfall straight ahead. Another quick swing with the over/under put number two in the vest, making the perfect lunch serving.

Continuing the circular hunt I had planned led me to a patch of Great Basin Wildrye with blades of emerald and aquamarine. A downed limb swooped low to the ground with a backdrop of juniper and a desert-like appearance. Here, I broke to gaze upon and photograph my two beautiful birds because every bird possesses unique, intriguing, stunning, and masterful plumage worthy of study.

Collared doves have a lighter gray, almost barnwood appearance compared to their mourning dove cousins. A coal-black band across the back of their neck is a dead giveaway, and when rolled in the sunlight, their plumage reflects storm-cloud blue and peach hues. Their tails are rounded with black and white bands around the tips, whereas mourning doves have wedge-shaped tails.

Per their namesake, Eurasian collared doves originated in Europe and Asia and were imported into the Bahamas and other Caribbean islands. They made their United States appearance in Florida in the late 1970s, supposedly having flown in from the Bahamas.

More than 40 years hence, collared doves are nearly ubiquitous across the nation, but there are some pockets where these birds have yet to appear. Invasive or not, they are an interesting addition to the winged fauna of North America and present a fine hunting experience and table fare.

Turning for the truck, I followed a forgotten gravel trail toward an open field through the trees. It was approximately 7:30 a.m., and the birds had quieted down considerably. Thinking I was done for the day, I stepped from the tree line to find two collared doves feeding beneath the limbs of another deadfall. They spooked upward to perch on a limb with the sun directly behind them. I would have held the shot to ensure they were not mourning doves, but the sun streaming through their large, rounded tails was proof enough.

The third bird was a welcomed parting gift, which I quickly collected and placed in the vest with the others-a perfect ending to a fine pre-season upland bird hunt.

Whiskey and Wild Plum Glaze

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp salted butter

¼ C packed brown sugar

¼ C of your favorite bourbon or whiskey

1 C small yellow plums (1 C of other plums will work as well)

Preparation:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan on medium heat.

Stir the brown sugar into the butter.

Squeeze plum pits and flesh from the skin into the saucepan and stir continuously for 5 minutes.

Add the whiskey and stir for 1 minute, then promptly remove from heat.

Separate the pits from the glaze and discard them.

Pour the glaze from the saucepan into a glass dish, grab the basting brush, and head to the grill.