On the second day of Christmas somebody’s true love gave a gift of Two Turtle Doves. Personally, I’d rather have a gift certificate to Chili’s, but to each his own.
True turtle doves are European natives. A migratory species, they spend their summers across Europe and the Middle East while wintering in southern Africa.
We don’t have turtle doves in the states. What some call turtle doves are really mourning doves. In my yard, we are fortunate to have doves not only on the second day of Christmas, but throughout the year. I have a resident flock that visits my yard and birdbaths every day. They enjoy the seeds I scatter behind the shed and especially relish the millet many other birds pass over.
Mourning doves are game birds in Virginia and I’ve shot my share, but if I attempted a shot at our backyard doves, it would be me whose feathers were plucked.
Doves in Virginia really took a hit two winters back when snow covered the ground for weeks on end. I’m not sure how any of the local birds survived, but a few did. I tried to scatter seeds on top of the snow and ice, and kept my birdbaths ice-free, but it was slim pickings for my fine-feathered friends. This summer, the doves did well in the nesting department. I saw lots of younger birds and I think the adults pulled off several successful hatches.
Doves are fairly prolific and sometimes begin nesting as early as February. They generally lay two, plain white eggs in shallow, often poorly constructed nests. The biggest enemy for nesting doves is wind. But the doves can have as many as 4 clutches a year, which makes up for a few wind-blown nests.
Another enemy of doves – at least in my yard – is the ever-opportunistic hawk.
Doves are fairly easy to catch by hawks when feeding on the ground, but it’s a different story when they are airborne. Doves can fly at speeds up to 40 miles per hour.
If you have a few doves in your yard, remember them this winter and keep a heated source of water in your birdbaths and a few seeds on the ground. Who knows – maybe you’ll get something really nice on the second day of Christmas.
