On Tue, 25 Aug 1998, Jim P. Flynn wrote:
> Keep up the great reports. It's certainly encouraging
> to hear that Band-tailed Pigeon numbers seem to be rising. Does
> anyone else on Tweeters know what their gamebird status is in
> WA, OR and CA? I'm wondering if a decrease in hunting pressure
> might be responsible for a population change.

The season on Band-tailed Pigeons has been closed in Washington for
a number of years, perhaps 8??. I believe the same is true for
Oregon and California and that index counts are being tracked to
determine when there are enough birds to allow these states to
open the hunting season again. The closed hunting season has
no doubt helped in their recovery though hunting may not have
been the only or primary reason for declines observed in the
late 70's through the 80's. Unfortunately, I am not well enough
informed to describe all of the hypotheses concerning the decline
which has recently been reversed.

Kelly McAllister