The early bird hunting lineup has changed since my formative hunting years. Sept. 1 used to usher in the start of woodcock hunting, which brought out a narrow slice of the hunting public, bird shooting specialists who made up in passion what they lacked in numbers.

Woodcock hunting has been pushed back several weeks, and the season shortened, in recent years, due to a population decline that biologists feel has been caused by destruction of breeding and wintering habitat. Carrying on the tradition of Sept. 1 openings now are mourning dove hunting, and the early Canada goose season.

This is the fourth year of open mourning dove seasons, after a closure of almost six decades. The number of dove hunters is limited, and has been estimated at 11,000 to 15,000 in the first three seasons. The harvest has fluctuated, too, from about 80,000 to just under 100,000 birds per year. Unlike our state, where renewed hunting interest might be considered in its infancy, mourning doves are the No. 1 game bird in the nation.

Sept. 1 is also the start of the early Canada goose hunting season, something that would have been unthinkable when I first began waterfowl hunting in the 1960s. At that time Canada geese were far from abundant. Today their numbers have mushroomed to the point of almost nuisance status in some areas of the state. Hunting is being encouraged to thin their ranks, in particular near some metro areas where there is traditionally less hunting pressure.

If you hunt neither mourning doves nor Canada geese, you're still waiting for your bird hunting season to begin. For many that will be Sept. 15, when ruffed grouse hunting is scheduled to begin. I say "scheduled" because of present conditions that dredge up painful memories.

Very dry conditions continue over much of northern Minnesota. The Smokey Bear sign in my area advertised "high" fire danger when I returned home at the end of this past weekend. Though it has been three decades, I very well recall the delay of the start of hunting seasons in northern Minnesota in 1976, due to high fire danger.

Open fires are not the only culprits under such conditions. A hot muffler coming in contact with dry grasses on logging roads, or in forest clearings, can ignite "the big one" just as easily as a thrown match or a carelessly-tended campfire. A nice drenching rain over the upper half of the state would be very welcome during the coming two weeks.

Many bird hunters are particularly anxious to go afield this year in the brushy woodlands where ruffed grouse are found, because their overall numbers are reported by the DNR to be up from a year ago, and to have begun a noticeable climb toward a long-awaited population peak. The dry summer weather has been negative for us in many respects, but may have helped grouse to avoid one of the common forces that undercuts their population. That is the loss of grouse chicks to wet, cold weather during the brooding period in June, which we did not experience in 2007.

One of the less pleasant sidelights to grouse hunting that has emerged in recent years is the growing prevalence of deer ticks, carriers of Lyme disease and Ehrlichiosis ("air-lick-ee-o-sis"). The expansion of this tiny tick's range, and the significant number that carry these illnesses, have made some think twice about activities they pursue during the fall.

Though there are precautions that reduce one's chances of being infected, I have outdoors-loving friends who have altered their fall activity patterns to include less grouse hunting and time in the woods, and more time waterfowl hunting and fishing, hoping to minimize chances of contracting one of these vitality-threatening ailments. Having had a neighbor become partially disabled by the arthritis-like effects of Lyme disease, has made me particularly attentive to preventive measures for dog and man.

Oct. 13 is highlighted on many calendar pages as the start of the pheasant hunting season. Having lived through some very lean pheasant years in the last quarter century, it is tremendously heartening to see bird numbers and harvests rivaling those of the early 1960s. Last year's 558,000 roosters marked the highest harvest since 1964, and the third time in the last four years that harvest exceeded 500,000 birds.

DNR biologists tell us that the past mild winter and dry spring could well mean another bumper crop this fall. The one cloud on the horizon is the possibility of a reduction in federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage in the future, which would have a negative impact on pheasant numbers.

As for ducks, hunting begins Sept. 29, and we're told it could be an "up" year, thanks to more ducks continent- wide, and some strong breeding numbers in Minnesota. But, as always, weather and timing will be keys to whether Minnesota duck hunters report more birds in the skies and splashing down in their decoys.

Welcome, September, and the hunting seasons that arrive with you!