A mourning dove outside my third-floor balcony. — Photo by Pat Bean
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts. – Winston Churchill.
Has It Been Too Successful?
A white-winged dove on the roof across from my apartment. — Photo by Pat Bean
In 1974, a small flock of Eurasian collared doves escaped captivity in the Bahamas. By 1982, the doves had made their way to Florida. From there, they spread out all across the country to the Pacific Ocean.
I remember the excitement created by this dove in 2002, when my Northern Utah birding friends began adding it to their life lists. I didn’t see one until two years later, however, and that was on Nov. 4, 2004, in Fowler, Colorado, not long after I had begun my nine-year RVing odyssey.
Eurasian collared doves. — Wikimedia photo by Horia Varlan
Here in Tucson, I daily see mourning doves and white-winged doves from my third-floor balconies, but haven’t yet spotted an Eurasian collared, which has me questioning the concerns some birders have about it impinging on our native doves.
Coincidently, in the latest Bird Watcher’s Digest, I came across this pearl about the Eurasian collared dove written by birdwatcher and postman Mel Carriere, who admits to keeping his eyes on the sky more, sometimes, than on the mail he delivers.
Wrote Mel: “Being a dangerously invasive creature itself, I think Homo Sapiens should reflect carefully before condemning another species just because it has been so overwhelmingly successful at achieving its own Manifest Destiny in so brief a period of time.”
Mel’s words made me smile.
Bean Pat: Bug on a fireweed http://tinyurl.com/y7jl5n22 I love this blogger. I always learn something new.
Pat Bean’s book Travels with Maggie is now available on Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/y9gjlc7r Bean is now working on Bird Droppings, a book about her late-bloomer birding adventures. You can contact her at https://patbean.wordpress.com
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Great post! I am always hearing about this bird from my husband, Clyde!
Thanks kkessler
Welcome, Pat!
Your mourning dove is so beautiful. I love that quote. 🙂
Thanks for your bean pat, Pat.
I find it interesting that this post about birds mentions the town of Fowler, given that the word means ‘a person who hunts for birds.’
We have the white-wing dove and mourning dove here in Austin. I don’t know whether the invasive one has made it here, but I suspect it has. I found a web page from Texas Parks and Wildlife saying the invasive species has been documented in 134 of Texas’s 254 counties. I don’t know how long ago that was written.
You’re welcome. I really enjoy your blog.
Pat,
I have some pictures of the same kind of dove… I will post, but I was not sure if it was an Eurasian or Mourning dove?
Keep enjoying the birds iaberti
Once the White-winged Doves leave, I start seeing several Eurasian Collared-Doves in my yard. Also plenty of House Sparrows and European Starlings. I read an article recently and wish I could find it again. I don’t really remember if it was about invasive plants or invasive birds but the gist of it (for me) was that, with time, don’t invasive species basically become native? I’m oversimplifying it but I keep thinking about it. It’s like evolution, these species adapt and so do the natives to co-exist together so at some point don’t they now belong?
I am stoked that my words could make you smile. Thanks for reading my article and mentioning it in your blog.