4 THE. A’ U-D'U BION? 6 U LD Ea 
New Dove Protection Bill Proposed 
By PAuL H. LoBik 
STATE SENATOR JACKSON L. BOUGHNER, of Palatine, I]]., who sponsored the 
Mourning Dove Protection Bill which was defeated in the last session of 
the State Legislature, has drawn up a new bill which he believes will over- 
come many of the previous objections. 
The new measure will tie the opening of the dove season in the three 
zones of the state directly to the nesting season in each area, as determined 
by the State Natural History Survey. This will have the effect of post- 
poning the opening day until most of the young Mourning Doves are off 
the nest (one of the main reasons why nature lovers have opposed dove 
shooting’). The effect will be to reduce the huge dove mortality that results 
when parent birds are killed and nestlings are left to die. Since modern 
hunters recognize that more nestlings lost mean less birds to hunt next 
season, both sportsmen’s clubs and nature study groups should support 
this proposal. 
The I.A.S. board of directors and a number of other Illinois groups have 
expressed approval of the suggested bill. Sen. Boughner has sent copies 
to the state Department of Agriculture, Department of Conservation, and 
Illinois Agricultural Association for their opinion. In the meantime, mem- 
bers who have late nesting records for Mourning Doves are urged to be 
especially sure to send their reports to Mr. Milton D. Thompson, Assistant 
Director, Illinois State Museum, Springfield. We will report the progress 
of the Mourning Dove proposal in future issues of the BULLETIN. 
22W681 Tamarack Drive, Glen Ellyn, Illinois 
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SEND IN YOUR NESTING REPORTS! 
By MILTON D. THOMPSON 
NOW IS THE TIME to send in your nesting records for compilation of the 
Second Annual Breeding Bird Census for Illinois. Last year’s reports were 
quite meager, but we expect much better results this year. Some affiliated 
clubs plan to send in reports on a group basis, and more should do so. 
Whether you report as groups or individuals, please send your data to me 
by the end of this month. Include all the details you can — species, location 
of nest, dates observed, number of eggs, number of young raised success- 
fully. Results will be published in the December BULLETIN if space permits. 
Send your reports to me at the address below: 
Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois 
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