Dove season

DINK NESMITH/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO Tony DeMarco, who is an Athens ophthalmologist and avid hunter, wraps up the owl he found in a barbed-wire fence on the opening day of dove season on Saturday. He said the owl later died.

DINK NESMITH/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO Tony DeMarco, who is an Athens ophthalmologist and avid hunter, wraps up the owl he found in a barbed-wire fence on the opening day of dove season on Saturday. He said the owl later died.

Dove season opens with tradition, unexpected rescue

Sarah Owens
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Opening weekend of dove season brought hundreds of hunters into fields across Oglethorpe County on Saturday, but for Tony DeMarco, the morning took an unexpected turn when his hunt became a rescue mission.