As one who regularly submits bird counts from our Littleton, Colorado, farm to eBird, I have noticed a significant scarcity of doves over the past year, especially this winter. Since it has been a relatively mild winter along the Colorado Front Range, inclement weather is certainly not the explanation.
Since buying the property in 1990, we have almost always had a few pair of mourning doves in the vicinity, joined by Eurasian collared doves in the 2000s. Regularly calling from the tree lines, sitting on the fences or foraging beneath the feeders, they were among the more common avian residents on the farm. Over the past year, however, the number of both species has fallen dramatically.
The cause for this dearth of doves is uncertain. Perhaps it reflects predation by Cooper's hawks which are regular visitors; or maybe their numbers are falling in concert with other grassland species, as noted in national surveys. Regardless of the cause, I hope it's a temporary phenomenon; those mellow birds are always welcome here.
Since buying the property in 1990, we have almost always had a few pair of mourning doves in the vicinity, joined by Eurasian collared doves in the 2000s. Regularly calling from the tree lines, sitting on the fences or foraging beneath the feeders, they were among the more common avian residents on the farm. Over the past year, however, the number of both species has fallen dramatically.
The cause for this dearth of doves is uncertain. Perhaps it reflects predation by Cooper's hawks which are regular visitors; or maybe their numbers are falling in concert with other grassland species, as noted in national surveys. Regardless of the cause, I hope it's a temporary phenomenon; those mellow birds are always welcome here.
