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Mourning Dove...



Good morning all,

I guess when the snow hits the ground the Mourning doves really like their
seed.  We rarely get snow in the Chapel Hill area, so when we did a little
over a week ago it was a real treat.  We got to see rivals at the suet
feeders sitting side by side at the same feeder, got to see the young
squirrels that had never seen snow before try to figure out what the heck it
was (funny, they didn't even come out of the nest the first day, must have
been fasting and praying their world would be back soon!), and also got to
see some unusual behavior from the Mourning doves that frequent our yard.

There always seems to be a steady flow of species at our feeders, and the
Mourning doves are often on the ground pecking at the millet we spread out
for them.  Each time we open the door to our camper or walk by the feeders
they are always the first to take flight and head for cover.  I have to get
much closer or make a louder noise than the door shutting for the rest of
the birds to bolt.  But when the snow fell all was reversed, I could get way
closer than normal and the doves would still be there getting as much seed
as possible, long after almost all the other species had headed for the
trees.  It was the exact opposite than on our "normal" weather days.  

Was just an interesting thing to me, I very much enjoy observing and paying
attention to the behavior of the birds in our area, they can tell you a
tremendous amount of what is going on in the forest around you and a great
indicator to pay attention to.  This sort of behavior demonstrated by the
doves is just the thing I like to see, might not mean much at the time but
may have lessons to be learned at a later date.

Take care all, happy birding!

--Craig