I've got a caliche pit full of water in a *now* hot and dry area on the western Edwards Plateau. Covered up in birds (almost exclusively mourning). Fingers crossed. One rain too close to Sept 1 could screw it up and scatter the birds. Curious what people are seeing around the state.

Hey Ernest, what area are you in? I seen a bunch of birds last year at my place in Rocksprings.

LOTS of birds in SW & lower central Coleman county. Fair amount around my place in western Young county.

We are off 41 near Garven Store. Have a couple old family places in the area. Lots of dove, but tough to get them to congregate anywhere we can shoot without water. How do you get on them?

Some birds around here not not as many as I'd like to see. Now that the sunflower fields are all cut, that could change.
In my opinion, that parasite that was going around in the Spring, killed some doves.

Around Archer; I have not seen the numbers of dove as past, yes there are some here and there, but usually at this time you always see big, big, flocks coming in the morning and evening. Could be diseases? Ever since, over the past years, I’ve seen the large increases in white wings and collared doves in town, it seems I’ve seen decreases in morning doves, could the morning dove be pushed out of those nesting areas?? Who knows?? Maybe it bounces back. On, the other hand if you have a cut field near a town, you’ll kill the heck out of them.

Scouted my sunflower field in Throckmorton this morning. Was very encouraged with what I saw.

I'm hunting by Cisco TX opening weekend. Hopefully there are birds around....

Been seeing a decent amount in the mornings and evenings in Wharton county. Several big groups too.

As usual, there's a lot of whitewings in my neighborhood. Been about 12 years since I've seen really good numbers out where I hunt in the Brookshire/Waller area. I try not to get too exited if I see plenty of birds in a field I'm gonna hunt a few days before season starts. I've seen tons of birds in fields just 2 or 3 days before season opener, just to have them fly the coupe before opening morning.

A little cooler and a little cloud cover this morning, seeing more birds than I have the past few mornings.

A lot of birds around Tuscola and southern Taylor county

So far it look's real good, better than last year. We had real good spring rain, the corn was great here on the place and the waterways have a bunch of sunflowers on em. So knock on wood they stay around!!!

A limit sitting on the power line next to the lake in the evening. Saw a Eurasian for the first time ever at the ranch with them

A whole bunch in Lubbock county

And now of course the weatherman says rain mon-wed next week. Like always LOL!!!!!!

Sunflowers around us in Stonewall look like they’re already dropped all their seeds. A
Few birds, but significantly less than last year.

It’s time….dove should be in the fields by the hundreds, plenty of food. Is anybody seeing that???

By the hundreds, no.

We have fun either way…birds are a bonus.

Singles and pairs in Haskell. Was out last week filling feeders and mowing. It’s super hot so they don’t get moving around till late. Nothing crazy to write about. We had a ton of rain early on in the yr, but yes the sunflowers dried up and are done now w the heat.

Talked to my outfitter in Uvalde and he said there were very few birds there.

Looks like washout potential in W Tx …….thats ok. South America is for dove hunting, Have had some great hunts in Texas though. I’ll shoot half a dozen in a few hours before work or in the afternoon… Work the dog a bit that’s my preference- opening day is a kick off to opening season for migratory birds, etc.

I love the anticipation!

There’s always threads 3+ weeks out from the opener… cracks me up. It’s like scouting to shoot ducks a month out.

Saw more this morning. It's a cooler morning here and I've noticed when it's cooler, more birds are out. Saw a couple of groups with 10+ birds, and several 4-6 bird groups.

I swear, it's different every single day. Yesterday I hardly saw any birds, but it was a hot morning.

Things change daily.

My place I hunt, texted me yesterday and said he has not seen this many birds in years. Woodson area.

Great, hopefully y'all will push some south of Breckenridge. My hard opening isn't till Friday September 6th.

I think the rain this week is going to screw my setup.

It usually does.

if everything stays like it is it will be a GOOOOOD one!!!!

A few more birds this morning than yesterday morning. Seems a few more each day.

Yeah, my set up goes from "any idiot could limit out (or get 2 or 3 limits)" to "it's not even really worth going" depending on rain. I think this is going to be in the 50% of the years that it is completely screwed up by rain. Looks like we will get rain pretty consistently over the next 5 days or so.

Anyone have bird reports around Hondo and Uvalde area?

Ernest, if you have a bunch of birds coming to a doveweed field or sunflowers, get out there before sunrise, try to beat the rain if possible, on the evening hunt, watch and see if the rain will stop, if it does, they will come. If it’s a hard rain, solid, we’re screwed.

That's good advice, and I appreciate it. But my best spot is a caliche pit full of water in a dry part of southwest Texas. Rain totally screws that up.

I do have access to some sunflower fields in Central Texas. Rain will probably push me that direction, so appreciate your trips. That's probably where I'll go now.

The Western Edwards Plateau is known for its variable conditions, so having a caliche pit that attracts mourning doves is a good sign.In general, the Western Edwards Plateau can see a range of bird species, particularly during migration seasons. If it’s been dry and hot, you might find that birds are more drawn to reliable water sources like your pit.To get a better idea of what others are seeing around the state, you might want to check out local birdwatching forums, state birding organizations, or citizen science platforms like eBird. These resources can provide real-time updates on bird sightings and trends in different regions, which might help you gauge what to expect in your area.Fingers crossed for favorable weather