Science Spotlight

CDFW Seasonal Aid Katie Schroyer determines the age of a dove by examining its wing


A banded mourning dove at a CDFW trap site in northern California


Age and sex data are recorded before the bird is banded and released.


A large kennel trap can catch more than 30 birds at a time.

As the second half of California’s split dove season kicks off, dove hunters may put more than birds in their bags. They may harvest a bird with a band on its right leg – thus getting an opportunity to contribute important data that will help guide future management efforts.

Since 2003, California has been an active partner in a nationwide assessment of mourning dove populations. California is one of 39 states that currently participate in dove banding. During the months of July and August, trained biologists and volunteers trap and band doves throughout the state. The banding of migratory birds requires a Master Banding Permit issued upon approval of a study application by the U.S. Geological Survey. All banders must pass an annual training to participate and are then issued a sub-permit.

Mourning doves are so widely distributed that banding operations can be – and are – located almost anywhere, from rural locations to urban backyards. Larger operations located on Wildlife Areas, ranches and open desert sites may employ the use of a large kennel trap capable of trapping 30 or more birds at a time, while smaller operations (“backyard banders”) use small Kniffin traps that catch just one or two birds at a time.

When a bird is banded, age and sex data are recorded. This information, along with capture location, date, bander name and corresponding band number, becomes part of a massive database managed by the USGS’s Bird Banding Laboratory. The mourning dove banding data is available to any interested party, but is mainly used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (PDF), university scientists and state agency scientists to analyze and estimate annual survival, harvest rates, recruitment and abundance.

The resulting analysis is used by wildlife managers in setting annual hunting regulations. For instance, in 2015, the USFWS increased the take of mourning doves in the Western Management Unit (which includes the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Arizona) from a daily bag limit of 10 to 15. The California Fish and Game Commission followed suit, also increasing the possession limit from two to three times the daily bag limit, in order to accommodate hunters on multi-day hunting trips.

If you harvest or find (encounter) a banded bird, CDFW asks that you report the number directly to the Bird Banding Laboratory. This can be done online at www.reportband.gov, or by calling (800)327-2263. When reporting an encounter you will be asked for the band number and basic information about where and how you obtained the band.

The person reporting is allowed to keep the band, and will receive a certificate with the details about where, when and by whom the bird was banded.

The USGS Bird Banding Lab is the keeper of banding data for both the US and Mexico. As of September 18, 2017 and since 1960, the BBL has received over 64 million banding records. Since the inception of the North American Bird Banding Program, the BBL has received over 4 million encounter records. On average, over the past decade, the BBL received 1.2 million banding and 87,000 encounter records per year.

For more information about mourning dove banding, including the 2017 Mourning Dove Harvest Strategy, visit the Doves and Pigeons page on the FWS website.

CDFW photos by Kloey Helms
Featured photo: CDFW Seasonal Aid Katie Schroyer determines the age of a dove by examining its wing.

Five agencies in two states recently partnered to help a tiny population of Greater Sage Grouse avoid extinction along the California-Nevada border. Biologists from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Geological Survey are working together in this first-of-its kind study. On April 22, the bi-state team of scientists captured, inseminated, transported and released 17 of these female upland birds to a new habitat where they will hopefully flourish and repopulate. Eight male birds were also transported to Bodie Hills as part of the study.

The birds were captured near Bodie and moved to Parker Meadows, about 30 miles south. CDFW scientists have been tracking the number of Greater Sage Grouse in Parker Meadows for years, and it was evident that human intervention would be necessary to keep the group alive. Between 2002 and 2010, the number of males had dropped from about 17 to only four, and CDFW estimated that the entire population had a 70 percent chance of going extinct in the next five years.

Translocation was chosen as the best option to save them, as it would not only boost the number of birds in the area, but also immediately widen the gene pool.

The birds were captured at night, measured and radio-collared. The hens were also artificially inseminated with sperm from the males in the Bodie population before being transported and released to integrate into their new home. (Watch video of the capture, insemination and release.)

Although biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey will be doing most of the hands-on work with the birds, CDFW biologists played an important role as well. Environmental Specialist Tim Taylor worked for months to obtain the proper land access permissions and assess the habitat near Bodie. Taylor identified several potential problems (including conifers, where raptors would likely perch while in search of prey, and barbed wire fencing) that needed to be removed prior to the relocation. And Senior Environmental Scientist Scott Gardner, in Sacramento, was instrumental in securing grant funding – without which, this partnership project would not have been possible.

“It’s a long term thing – it’s going to take about five years to get results we are hoping for,” Taylor said. “But we’ve got a great crew and I’m confident we’re going to have success and keep that little population going.”

Read more about the Greater Sage Grouse study.

Photos by Dan Hottle/USFWS