With the heat and steaming humidity we’ve been experiencing, it’s difficult to think about hunting.

Even fishing isn’t that good during these dog days of summer. But come Thursday, Sept. 1, the traditional dove and early goose season kicks off.

Since dove are somewhat easier to hunt this time of year, we’ll focus on them as corn and soybean crops are still growing which makes those fields not conducive to goose hunting methods.

As common, this year’s dove season comes in three separate seasons. The first phase runs from Sept. 1-Oct. 8, then Oct. 15-Nov 26, and finally Dec. 26-Jan. 3. Hunting hours start at noon during the first phase and reverts to normal hunting hours thereafter.

Actually our September dove season is shared with 40 of the lower 48 states and combined has a population of approximately 300 million, making them the most abundant game species in the country. Of this number, hunters countrywide take between 15-20 million birds yearly. But doves replenish their numbers annually.

The mourning dove is a member of the family Columbidae and is closely related to the rock dove or domestic pigeon. It breeds across all of the lower 48 states. Contrary to some thinking, doves do not damage crops as deer and bear do. They prefer to eat on the ground, typically twice a day, once in the morning and again in late afternoon. They feed primarily on weed seeds such as that from foxtail, thistle and occasionally, a few insects, snails and slugs. And when harvested, waste grains from corn, wheat, millet, sorghum, barley and sunflowers. Seeds that mechanical harvesters leave behind. But sunflower seeds are one of their favorite if they can find them.

My teen son at the time and I had the most memorable dove hunting years ago outside the Borough of Macungie and in a sunflower field across from Mack Trucks plant. Of course that land was sold some time ago and is now developed. That sunflower field brought doves in by the dozens. Shooting at them didn’t phase them as they were determined to come in and feast on sunflower seeds. Shooting repeated doubles was a first for both of us.

Later in the day doves customarily pick grit to aid in digestion. Grit can be in the form of gravel, cinders, glass bits or any other small material. That’s why you’ll see them on roadways and gravel parking lots picking away. When not doing that, they’ll be perched on utility wires or in trees, especially dead trees, and then take an occasional drink at a pond, creek or puddles of standing water.

These are the places hunters have to look for where dove could have a flyway and roosting/feeding habitat. But when hunting them by standing corn and soybean crops, you don’t want to traipse through those looking for a downed dove. In situations like this, it would be beneficial to have a good hunting dog for retrieval, or, only shoot when the doves fly from standing crops toward open fields where they can be more readily found.

The second best part of dove hunting is making their olive oil basted, bacon-wrapped breasts on a grille. The dark meat of a dove breast is a dinner delight.

Just remember when going afield to take lots of shells (and bug/tick spray). You’ll likely need them as doves can dip, dive and put on the afterburners when a load of No. 8 nontoxic shot is coming their way.