Hutchinson ? The dove hunting season begins Wednesday in Kansas, which has one of the largest dove populations in the country.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks says the dove harvest in Kansas is among the top five in the United States. Last year, about a half-million doves were bagged by hunters in Kansas.

Wildlife officials also tell The Hutchinson News they hope that a continued study will give more information on the number of doves harvested. The state has banded 15,000 doves since 2003. Yet hunters have reported only 500 bands.

The department says that’s likely because dove hunters aren’t used to looking for bands like waterfowl hunters.

Officials are trying to encourage more dove hunters to check for bands on the doves they shoot and report them to the department.