Dove trapping and banding workshop in Fayette

FAYETTE — The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is hosting a mourning dove trapping and banding workshop on Aug. 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Davisdale Conservation Area (CA) Shop, 682 County Road 453 in Fayette. The workshop is free, but space is limited and participants must pre-register by Aug. 2. This program is open to families and youth age 11 years and up and their parent or adult mentor.

The workshop will cover a wide variety of topics including mourning dove ecology and biology, trapping methods and equipment, banding procedures and bird identification, and information on the mourning dove project. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to assist in the trapping and banding of doves.

“This is an excellent hands-on opportunity to understand and participate in wildlife preservation,” said MDC Wildlife Management Biologist Steve Noll. “Dove banding plays an important role in managing our dove resource for future generations.”

The Conservation Department bands approximately 2,500 birds annually as part of a nationwide effort to create a dove-management database. Approximately 12 percent of those doves are recovered and reported, mostly by hunters. This allows conservationists to track migratory patterns to find out how far doves have traveled. Feedback from the banding program facilitates the creation of federal limits to the number of doves a hunter can kill. It also sheds light on how the birds’ behavior relates to weather patterns and climate.

Davesidale CA is located west of Columbia, off of Highway 40.

For more information, or to register for the workshop, please contact Noll at 660-248-3358, ext. 119.