Of all the reasons to go dove hunting, Michelle Tella has found one that suits her. “I’m all about the outfits,” she says with a laugh.
In her stylish boots and camouflage cap, Tella looks like a seasoned hunter, even though she started hunting just two years ago. Today, she’s at one of the best dove hunting spots in the United States.
She and her friend, Vanessa Sanchez, are hunting at Resaca de la Palma State Park in deep South Texas. The park sits in a major migratory bird flyway, with more than 250 back acres open for special dove hunting days. The park benefits from its proximity to Las Palomas Wildlife Management Area, 3,311 acres of public hunting land named for doves and dedicated to preserving their habitat.
“Historically, the only place in Texas you could find white-winged doves was the lower Rio Grande Valley,” says Owen Fitzsimmons, TPWD Dove Program Leader. “They’ve since expanded beyond their traditional nesting grounds into almost every corner of the state, but we want to maintain their native range," he says. "This is some of their last remaining rural habitat.”
On this warm September morning, Tella and Sanchez have plenty of space to spread out.
Sanchez reminisces about dove hunting as a little girl. “I started off as a bird dog with my uncle," she says. "He would shoot and I would go fetch his birds.”
Now she has a bird dog of her own named Hazel, who is quivering with excitement.
Tella and Sanchez scan the sky, waiting for the thrill of doves streaking by.
“When I see that dove, all I see is bacon flying,” Sanchez says. “My heart starts pumping. My dog is excited. She’s ready to take off and go catch that bird.”
Tella agrees. “It’s for sure an adrenaline rush that you don’t really experience with anything else.”
Tella met Sanchez during one of her first hunts, and the two women hit it off.
“Once you find that connection with another female hunter, it changes the whole ballgame,” Sanchez says. She encourages other women who are interested in hunting to join groups such as Women Who Hunt and local hunting groups, many of which are active on social media.
To Sanchez, the lush green fields are more than hunting grounds. She and her husband had their wedding photos taken here.
Some people dream of releasing doves at their wedding. These two women turn them into jalapeño poppers.
South Texas public hunting
Resaca de la Palma State Park is open to dove hunting on select days in September and October. Hunters need a Texas hunting license, a public hunting permit and a migratory bird stamp. Other South Texas sites such as Las Palomas Wildlife Management Area are available for hunting through TPWD’s public hunting program or drawn hunt program.
