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Five Dove Species



Hey Carolina Birders,

Five dove species were seen today in Georgetown County, SC.  They included
Mourning Dove, Rock Dove (alright, Rock "Pigeon"..  I need to add that
before I get busted on a technicality), Common Ground-Dove, Eurasian
Collared-Dove and a White-winged Dove.

Mourning Doves were seen everywhere.  The Rock Doves were spotted on the
southern end of Garden City.  Eurasian Collared-Doves were seen at various
locations throughout Murrells Inlet.  (This included thirteen birds that
were seen eating goat feed on the small island behind Creek Ratz
Restaurant.)  The Common Ground-Dove was seen at the Huntington Beach State
Park Nature Center and the White-winged Dove was seen at the park as well as
it flew past the headquarters parking lot on two separate occasions.

The White-winged Dove was first seen shortly after 11:00 am.  It flew in
from the south and dropped into a scrubby area just off the northwestern
section of the parking lot.  It appears as though this was a small pond at
some point as cattails can still be seen surrounding this small depression.
Surrounding the cattails, however, is some pretty thick stuff.  I attempted
to locate the bird for at least a half-hour by trying to look through the
vegetation.  It was simply too thick.  I then played the White-wingeds call
a couple times and received a response.  (No, I don't need any nasty e-mail
for playing a tape twice to help identify the bird.  Thanks just the same
though.)  I continued to try to find the bird with no success.  After close
to an hour, I attempted to make my way into this small depression to get a
better look at this bird.  When I finally made my way in, the bird flushed
and flew off in a northerly direction.

The square tail with the white tip was obvious on both passes.  The tail was
noticeably narrower than the Eurasian Collared Doves' but was definitely
square and not pointed.  In general, the bird appeared slightly lighter in
color than the Mourning Dove but not nearly as light as the Collared Dove.
My first reaction was that the bird was a bit heavier than the Mourning but
not nearly as bulky as the Collared Dove.  The clincher on the ID was the
sound that the bird made as it flew by.  It had a "wing whistle" just as the
Mourning Dove would.  Although my field guides said the Collared Doves would
not have the whistle, I went to find a couple just to make sure.  As I
mentioned, a group of thirteen were found in Murrell's Inlet.  After waiting
some fifteen minutes, three of the birds finally flew off and passed within
twenty feet on my location.  They made no sound whatsoever in flight.

I mentioned the bird to the staff at the HBSP Nature Center.  Because there
are often Morning Doves around the feeders there and because I understand
the White-wingeds will sometimes be seen with Mourning Doves, I'm hopeful
that this bird may be seen again at the Nature Center.  I'll be sure to post
additional information if I'm able to relocate the bird or if I hear that
someone else has done so.

Good Birding!
Ritch Lilly
Myrtle Beach (Horry County), SC
scbeachbums@hotmail.com