Hunters will be rejoicing this weekend as the official start of dove season kicks off on Saturday.

With the beginning of mourning and white-winged dove hunting in two days, the fall 2014 hunting season kicks off in the state.

“Of course, the Black Belt region of Alabama offers some of the best dove hunting anywhere,” Pam Swanner, project manager for the Alabama Black Belt

Adventures Association, said in a press release. “Whether your hunting takes you to public lands, farmland or one of the 19 lodges that offer dove hunting, the Black Belt has it.”

Alabama’s dove season lasts from Sept. 6 through Nov. 9, and then from Dec. 7-31, for most of the state, which includes the North zone and all but one county (Barbour) of the Black Belt. For the 10 counties in the southern part of the state, dove seasons runs later from Sept. 20-28, Oct. 11-26 and from Nov. 12 through Jan. 15, 2015.

Those who have a younger sportsman in the family need to sign him or her up for the Step Outside Youth Dove Hunt, sponsored by the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Youth hunts are scheduled through the state, beginning on Saturday.

The number of participants in the youth hunts is limited depending on location, so those interested are encouraged to register early. Black Belt counties that are host sites are Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Barbour, Crenshaw, Macon, Monroe and Choctaw.

To register or for more info on hunting in Alabama, including seasons and bag limits, visits the department of conservation’s website at www.outdooralabama.com.

For more info on hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities in the Black Belt, go to www.alabamablackbeltadventures.org.