Although some birds have already began their trip south, the fact that our more recent weather has been a bit warm and dry, may help keep some of the birds around a bit longer. I think hunters will see a good number of doves this year.

To that point, the team's mood was a lot like the weather--kind of gray. But then Justin comes out in one of our first races of the day and blows the field away. That set the tone for the rest of the day.

The best bit about being an Englishman abroad is not being subject to the English weather or, in fact, many of the English.

Although it is not a law yet, I'd suggest to all dove hunters that they try and wear some hunter orange. Sometimes, when you get a lot of hunters in one area, it gets a little hard for everyone to see the other. This way you will hopefully be more visible to others and we will not have as many hunting accidents.

If there is one suggestion I could make to hunters it would be that most of these birds will be staying near the more weedy areas. Hunters would do well to stay near these areas or close to the sunflowers.

Although we didn't see that many birds during the survey, we did see good numbers during the hotter parts of the summer. One thing to note is that this year's habitat is a lot better than it was last year -- so we think hunters should see plenty of doves out there.