about 200 birds are banded annually in Middle Tennessee. Of that number, very few are turned in by hunters.
OUTDOORS
SEP 12, 2014
A dove that was banded by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency six years ago survived a half-dozen hunting seasons and countless hunters until it flew past Lebanon's Brian Masemer on Sept. 1 opening day.
Masemer was hunting on private land near Coles Ferry when the dove came darting over the field. Several of Masemer's hunting buddies shot and missed before the dove got to Brian, who shot and connected.
When he retrieved the downed bird, he discovered a metal band on its leg.
"It was really a coincidence, because just a few minutes before, we had been talking about banded doves and the fact that we'd never seen one," Masemer said.
"Then I shot that one, and when I went out and picked it up, and I noticed the band on its leg. It's a little band, and it would be easy to overlook, but there it was.
"I walked back and told my buddies, 'You're not going to believe what I've got ...'"
Masemer called the TWRA to report the harvest of a banded dove, and was told how rare it was. The Agency collected the band's information, and issued Masemer a certificate of acknowledgment.
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