THE BOTTOM LINE
OK -- enough of the biology talk! What's the bottom line on what Oklahoma dove shooters can expect this season?

"I've been out the last couple of weeks, and while we're still getting a lot of our breeding birds into the state, I saw huge numbers of doves yesterday," O'Meilia said. "Just about everywhere they are well into nesting courtship, rearing of young, et cetera."

Of course, despite supportive nesting conditions, a lot of things still need to happen before a great hunting season can unfold. "I tell people that I like going into the opener with it hotter-than-Hades hot and dry in August and September," O'Meilia remarked. "If we've had good production prior to that -- production is the engine that drives everything -- then that's a recipe for a great dove season."

It appears as if the production aspect of that recipe is a done deal around much of Oklahoma, and that should mean plenty of smiles, a lot of empty shotgun-shell hulls and hefty game bird vests on the backs of hunters this September. "If what I've seen the last couple of weeks is indicative of what we can expect, it could be a great year," O'Meilia said.

But then, what would you expect -- as Oklahoma celebrates its centennial year -- from one of the nation's premier dove hunting states?

CHANGE IN DOVE REGS
For as long as most mourning dove hunters (myself included) can remember, the schedule for the Sooner State's fall season has been etched in stone. This year, however, big change will greet Oklahoma's wingshooters, according to ODWC wildlife chief Alan Peoples.

"Historically, Oklahoma has had one dove season running from Sept. 1 to Oct. 30 with a 15 dove per day bag limit," he stated. Most of the state will stay that way, he went on to say, with a 60-day season, a daily bag limit of 15 doves, and a possession limit of 30 after the first day, but that's won't be true all over.

"This year we passed a rule where we will have two dove hunting zones," he said. "The new zone is in the extreme southwestern part of the state. Creating that zone will give us additional days, but it will reduce the bag limit."

Specifically, Peoples said, a small portion of the southwestern part of the state along the Red River will increase to a 70-day season with the dates running from Sept. 1 through Oct. 30, and from Dec. 26 through Jan. 4.

Gray -- the color of the rocketing winged ghosts themselves, here one moment, gone the next amid a fusillade of shotgun pellets.

At the same time, the daily bag limit will be decreased to 12 and the possession limit will be decreased to 24 after the first day. "The additional days are around the Christmas and New Year's holiday period," Peoples said. "In that area of the state, the doves stay there year 'round."

"This is just another added hunting opportunity. In a year when the quail aren't doing too good, but the kids are at home for the holidays, hunters can go down there, get in the mesquites and bag some doves."

EURASIAN COLLARED DOVES
For years, Oklahoma's dove population was basically unvarying in makeup: locally raised mourning doves supplemented by "Kansas birds" migrating southward as fall cold fronts came and went. Today, however, it isn't out of the realm of possibility to see three different dove species on any given hunt.

Mourning doves still make up the bulk of the state's harvest each year, but white-winged doves are expanding their range northward throughout the state of Texas every year. And with whitewings becoming more prevalent near the Lone Star State's side of the Red River, Oklahoma hunters shouldn't be surprised to see the doves on the Sooner side as well.

Nor should they be afraid to fire a salvo at these bigger, slower doves featuring the white wing-patch; their harvest is allowed for in the Oklahoma daily dove hunting bag limit.

And don't be surprised to see a Eurasian collared dove in the Sooner State. A good bit bigger than a mourning dove, this exotic bird was native to the Indian subcontinent but began appearing in Europe in the 1900s. Brought to the Americas -- Nassau, to be exact -- in the early 1970s to replace the ringed turtledove, some made their way to Florida and began a westward expansion.

Today, the pale-gray Eurasian collared dove -- featuring a black collar around the back and side of the neck, dark primary feathers, a collar with a white upper border, and a long, square tail -- is found in Texas and Oklahoma. According to Alan Peoples, these exotic doves are included in the state's regular bag limit too.

Data I found about the birds on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Web site indicate that the birds are actually found now as far north as Wisconsin, portions of Canada, and even the Arctic Circle.