310. Mourning Dove

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There was great excitement in April (2017) when the first elegant, fine tailed Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura)  arrived at Leaning Oaks. We'd whisper and peer out the window as they cooed softly and fed below the feeders. The whistling of their wing feathers would make us grin with delight. We now get at least a couple daily and have had up to 11 Mourning Doves at a time. We still do smile at the whistling wing feathers. This noise is created by the air travelling over the wing tips and is used to warn the others of danger. Their voice is too quiet to do this job!

I think that we were sure that if a dove were to become common here it would have been the Eurasian Collared Dove with an increasing trend throughout the province that has been meteoric. 
 
The Breeding Bird Survey trend in Canada shows a general increasing trend for Mourning Doves, whereas the BBS trend for BC is a significant decline. The Christmas Bird Count data for Victoria however, shows a steady dramatic increase since the 1950's.  The colonization of Leaning Oaks in this last year is part of that increase.