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If you live in the contiguous United States, chances are good that you have seen a mourning dove. It鈥檚 one of the most abundant bird species in North America with approximately 346 million doves in the U.S. estimated as of Sept. 1, 2023.
Yet, biologists and others were out at San Luis National Wildlife Refuge in California in early July 2025 banding mourning doves to help track their population and movements. 鈥淭he refuge is working under the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's mourning dove banding program,鈥� says Fumika Takahashi, wildlife biologist for the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
Biologists at the refuge have been banding doves since 2012.
With a species that plentiful, you might be tempted to ask why we need to study its movement and distribution, population estimates, and survival and harvest rates. It鈥檚 really very simple: We鈥檙e determined to ensure not only that future generations know the mourning dove and its distinctive song but also that mourning dove hunting continues to flourish.
And what a robust hunting tradition it is. In 2023, estimates put the number of harvested mourning doves in the U.S. at nearly 17 million by more than 1 million hunters.
Laurel Barnhill, the chief of staff for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region, spoke about her love of dove hunting in a story on fws.gov last year (Autumn Rituals: Celebrating Dove Hunting Traditions). She and her husband invite family and friends every year to a hunt on a dove field they have cultivated.
For Barnhill, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about how many birds anybody kills. It鈥檚 about sharing the experience of being together on a Saturday afternoon.鈥�
While there is no dove hunting on the refuge (the hunting draw there is waterfowl hunting), Takahashi says, dove hunters are welcome on adjacent state wildlife areas.
The goal of the California program is to band 1,732 doves per year across the state. The refuge banded 48 doves by the end of July, Takahashi says.
Takahashi and other biologists do the actual banding, but, Takahashi says, 鈥渨e have had many local volunteers over the years help, as well as biological science technicians, interns, Pathways students, admin staff, visitor service staff, refuge managers, and some of our wage grade staff really enjoy participating as well.鈥�
One of the volunteers in early July was Malcomb Barsella, a visual information specialist with the Office of Communications. 鈥淪eeing the passion and expertise these wildlife biologists had during the process was inspiring,鈥� he says.
To catch the doves, the refuge uses what Takahashi called 鈥淜niffin style walk-in funnel traps.鈥� The birds are lured in with safflower and millet seeds. 鈥淭he dove walks in,鈥� Takahashi says, 鈥渁nd can鈥檛 figure out how to walk out.鈥� This type of trap makes sense for a bird that mostly feeds on the ground.
Once they capture the doves, biologists note the bird鈥檚 age, sex, banding number if it is a previously banded bird, and the time captured. They band the new birds before setting them free.
Dove hunters are not only beneficiaries of this work but also a key part of the process. They report the band ID on birds they harvest to the via . Anyone that finds a dead dove with a band can also report it. But as Takahashi says, 鈥淭he printing on the band is too small to read 鈥� unless you have the bird in hand.鈥�
The numbers suggest the Western population of mourning doves is healthy, probably a result of all the banding.
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