It’s only Tuesday, but today marks an important milestone for hunters in at least half of Texas.

Today, Sept. 1, is the first day of dove hunting season for areas north of Interstate 10.

“There’s a lot of people who anticipate this day year-after-year. There’s a lot of shotguns going off this morning, this afternoon and this weekend will be a big weekend,” Warren Bluntzer, biologist and owner of Wildlife Consulting Services, told the TFB Radio Network. “Be extremely cautious with fires. A lot of this country right now is a tinder box. Caution them about rattlesnakes. This has been a rattlesnake year for us.”

Thanks to a wet spring and summer in many locations, hunting is expected to be good this year.

“We had good precipitation in May and early June across the state. The drought conditions no longer persist throughout and we had good production because of those resources on the landscape,” Shaun Oldenburger, dove program leader for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), said. “It will be an excellent hunting season this year if people can actually get out and pattern birds a little bit just because we do have lots of seeds and lots of water on the landscape right now.”

Before hunters hit the trails this week, TPWD reminds everyone who was born on or after Sept. 2, 1971 to complete a hunter education training course as it is now required by law.

Hunters are encouraged to carry their certificate along with their hunting license while in the field as it may be checked by game wardens. Hunters over the age of 17 may take their hunter education course online.

Dove season for the north and central zones lasts until Oct. 25. It then reopens from Dec. 18 to Jan. 1. For areas south of I-10, dove season will run from Sept. 18-Oct. 21 and again from Dec. 18-Jan 22 in the South Zone and Dec. 18-Jan. 18 in the special white-winged dove area.

To find out which area you’re in, or for more information on Texas’ hunting and fishing regulations, visit TPWD.state.tx.us.

There is a 15-bird daily bag limit, and although there are at least eight species of doves and pigeons that live in Texas, only four are legal to hunt. Hunters are encouraged to look in this year’s Outdoor Annual prior to hunting to ensure the doves they’re aiming at are legal to hunt.

You can also now find TPWD’s Outdoor Annual online and via a free mobile app for both Apple and Android devices. The free book includes a listing of the 2015-2016 hunting seasons, general hunting and fishing requirements and restrictions, a county-by-county hunting season listing and other valuable information for hunters and anglers.

A downloadable and printable copy of the 2015-2016 Outdoor Annual can be found online at: http://bit.ly/1EDcQ9m. A Spanish version of the annual, along with convenient wallet cards for seasons and bag limits, can be found here: http://bit.ly/1JrqYdf. To download the free Outdoor Annual app, simply search for Outdoor Annual – Texas Hunting and Fishing Regulations in the iTunes or Google Play store–whichever your respective device uses.

New hunting and fishing regulations go into effect today.

Gary Joiner has more on this year’s dove hunting forecast on the Texas Wildlife Radio Show on the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network: http://bit.ly/1N0amZu.