Mourning doves | March 2006 |
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Mourning doves are beautiful birds with a soulful call. They happily collect seed that the smaller birds toss from our feeders. I also come across them in the game land out back.
A mourning dove pair is very affectionate, as the following photos show. (My informal title for this sequence is "love doves.")
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After a good, long look at each other, the doves began necking or kissing. First on one side.
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And then on the other.
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After a break, I had the distinct impression that they didn't want to be photographed anymore; they wanted a little privacy.
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Incidentally, if you live in Michigan, there's the Committee to Restore the Dove Shooting Ban, which has the following purpose:
11 November 2006 update: Michigan voted "no" and maintained the mourning dove's protected status. Success! Photo note: I used a Pentax *ist D, with the SMC-A* 300mm lens for these photos, which were taken in April 2005, at Cooper's Pond, State College, Pennsylvania. |