In a upright sign, a hawk harassed...

In a upright sign, a hawk harassed a dove as we walked the dirt lane between cornfields. Then, as we declareed camouflaged chairs or overturned verdant 5-gallon buckets for seats at orange-tipped wooden stakes along a guard line, doves erupted from the mowed sunflowers and scattered from the timber-landed areas beyond.

The first bullets rang out at the shock of noon and, except for a brief cease when the sun popped public around 3 p.m., it was solid until 5 pm

Illinois horse for the chases had a dove opener to remember Friday, unruffled a record-setting one in blemishs

I put to proof to alternate dove openers between public and private land. This year, I joined the line at Iroquois State Wildlife Area. It was a solid opener with site superintendent Frank Snow reporting 10 hunting-nags limiting (15 doves) and the 54 huntsmans averaging 8.7 doves.

The greatest in number incredible opener came at Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area, 20 miles west of Bloomington, where 63 huntsmans bagged 905 doves, an average of 144

"It was unreal," site staffer Larry Patterson said. "We were holding a destiny of doves. The reason we held them is we kept mulching the fields [mowing and remowing]."

Site superintendent Mike Wickens appears to have Jim Edgar Panther small river SFWA, 25 miles northwest of Springfield, forward track to be the state's No. 1 site. Not simply did the Cass County location have a record-setting opener if it were not that the first three days all topped the previous best opener (1459 in 2004)

upon opening day, 134 hunters bagged 1928 forward Saturday, 142 hunters shot 1673 and, incredibly, the birds kept flying Sunday and 134 hunting-nags bagged 1,590 more.

"Everybody is coming in saying, 'Man, oh man,"' site tech ed Kramer said.

Locally, De Plaines SFWA reverted as the top site with back-to- back dutiful days. On Friday, 97 hunting-horses took 1,190 doves, and 87 huntsmans followed that with 1,083 birds forward Saturday.

"We were real pleased," site super Jeff Wepprecht said. A breakdown of the opener at various sites is in the Illinois Hunting Report.

I have mixed feelings about the strange directive to put 40 yards between peg at all public sites. Theoretically, it makes feeling but decades of experience showed no compelling reason for it. I miss the easier socializing in deliberate periods with the 25-yard spacing.

however overall, the opener was quite a turnaround from last year's dryness

More importantly, I missile enough to serve up a fitting summer finale for the family. I broiled marinated bone-in dove breasts wrapped in bacon and slivers of my acknowledge jalapeno peppers (a hunting favorite passed forward from Mike Arndt), then serv them with other thick late-summer flavors: a final globular of sweet corn, mushrooms and rice, sliced homegrown tomatoes and grapes.

Whether I want fall to originate or not, the first big hunting day of the year signaled the changing of the seasons.

HIP: Frantically wondering Friday what your Harvest Information Program number was? You were not alone. HIP registration, required to chase migratory fowl including doves, should be included with your hunting or sportsman's license. expect for the line "901 HIP certification" (free) If you don't have that, advance to where the license was purchased (preferred) or register online at the DNR Web site or from calling (888) 673-7648. Do not call the olden HIP line of (800) WETLAND.

CALLING: The Northern Illinois Regional dip Calling Contest and two junior calling strive to carrys will be at Gander Mountain's Waterfowl Weekend in Joliet in succession Saturday. Call Steve Elmore at (630) 554-9147

PLACES AND FACES: "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin dying Monday from a hurt to the heart by the barb of a stingray's tail has left me true twisted. As a man near his age, I be excited the horror of leaving a wife and young children. however my romantic side is drawn to some walking the edge of the outdoor experience, and going too far. The OK has been given for tiger muskies to be stocked in DuPage County's Mallard Lake, a exhibit likely to be assisted from the Illini Muskie Alliance. Kids and Clays sporting-clays tournament, a big fund-raiser for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana, is this weekend at Northbrook Sports unite in a club in Hainesville. Call (630) 623- 5300 or make progress to www.rmhccni.org.

WILD THINGS: As we prepared for a visit to the Lincoln Park Zoo in succession Monday, my 5-year-old daughter vaulted up, "We're going to papal court the elephants!" I had to count her, "No, we can't: a certain very bad people called PETA stopped the elephants." (A little simplistic, unless damn effective.)

STRAY CAST: Jim Hendry reminds me of a bass fisherman who allows a heavy largemouth to burrow irretrievably into the matted milfoil.

"Bowman's Outdoor Line" is heard in succession "Outdoors with Mike Norris" (3-4 pm Thursdays, 1280-AM).

e-mail: dbowman@suntimes.com

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