A couple of Mourning Doves showed up at Swan Lake today – as best I can tell, they were the first I’ve seen since September 2009, so it was nice to get a chance to note the differences from the increasingly common Eurasian Collared-Doves. After I got a call about their presence (thanks Lucy!) I was able to sit and watch them for a bit. When disturbed they tended to fly over to the patch of trees just up Lake Street from the peninsula. After a few minutes, if things were calm, they flew back over to the peninsula and actively fed, both on the gravel path and in the grass. They did seem fairly easily disturbed, but also faithful to the area – at one point they both flew across the lake and I figured they would find a favorable yard over on Lakeview Drive. However, within hour or less they were back at the peninsula (I had left, but Connor noticed them when he went by). They were still there when I went by a couple hours after that, as well.
