Avian Explorer » dove

Mourning Doves

Elizabeth — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:07:24 +0000

We’re having the strangest influx of Mourning Doves lately. I noticed that there were more than usual in my yard. And then last weekend I notices that Farmington Bay was filled with Mourning Doves!

On two separate occasions I saw them nesting. Once last Saturday

And also on July 4th.

I got a picture of one of the babies in April 2010. He looks a lot look an adult only more mottled.

I took this picture during a rainstorm. The picture is blurry because of the poor lighting, but he looks so incredibly pitiful that I had to show you.

So have you had a rise in doves in your neighborhood?

Mourning Dove

Elizabeth — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:38:19 +0000

And the winner for most pitiful bird of the year is this Mourning Dove! He’s so cold.

Happy New Year!

Bird Identification – Mourning & Eurasian Collared Doves

Elizabeth — Sat, 29 May 2010 02:03:22 +0000

Mourning Doves are very common in my neighborhood. I love their sad song and the little noises that they make when they fly. They’ve really gotten used to me. This guy is quite at home sitting inside a feeder meant for sparrows.

By the way, if you like the red feeder, you can order one from my friend’s husband, Dave of Nickerson Woodcrafts. He makes the feeders himself and you can select from a variety of colors. I chose red because it matches the red brick of the house. Usually the doves prefer ground feeding so it was surprising to see one inside the feeder.

If you take a walk around the neighborhood, you’re guaranteed to see Mourning Doves and American Robins.

One day we saw some doves and I thought they looked a little different. Then I realized! They were Eurasian Collared Doves. I think you can see why “collar” is in their name.

They also differ from the Mourning Doves by having no black markings on their back, a wider tail and orange irises with white rings versus black irises with blue rings. I say that Mourning Doves have blue rings around their eyes, but it’s pretty subtle.

Here’s a comparison of the tails with the Eurasian Collared Dove on the top.

It’s amazing how different they look when you study the details.

Mourning Doves

Elizabeth — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:05:46 +0000

We have Mourning Doves in the neighborhood and I’m so glad.

They make lovely cooing noises in the morning.

Even when they’re cold, they look absolutely adorable.

yet so completely pitiful. I’m not sure that any more of his head could be stuffed into that puffy breast.

We had doves in California that enjoyed the cockatiel food. I even named one of them Medusa. Not for any symbolic reason, it simply sounded nice. Medusa liked to hang out with another Mourning Dove that had some Rock Pigeon in his blood because his chest was the purple sheen of a common pigeon. But Medusa didn’t mind.

In SLC we have whole groups of doves!

I could stare at them for hours

and my backyard has a pair that enjoy sifting through the grass for seeds that fell from the feeders. I guess the Mourning Doves are a bit too large to perch on the feeders. They also seem to generally prefer ground feeding.

They’re not very afraid of me. I can walk around in the same backyard and they watch me, but they don’t flee.