Mourning Dove

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The mournful cooing of the Mourning Dove is one of our most familiar bird sounds. From southern Canada to central Mexico, this is one of our most common birds. They are also the most frequently hunted species in North America. Hunters may shoot upwards of 20 million each year. It helps that the birds are prolific breeders with up to six broods a year.  At Grand Harbor we might see these birds in trees or on the ground.

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Mourning Doves tend to feed busily on the ground, swallowing seeds and storing them in an enlargement of the esophagus called the crop. Once they have filled it, (the record is 17,200 bluegrass seeds in a single crop!) they can fly to a safe perch to digest the meal. They will also swallow grit or small gravel to aid in the digestion of hard seeds. They eat roughly 12 to 20 percent of their body weight per day.

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They will nest in trees, on the ground, and one Grand Harbor resident found them nesting in a flower pot next to their front door. The nest is a flimsy assembly of pine needles, twigs and grass stems, unlined and with little insulation for the young. The female knits together the items brought to her by the male.

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The Mourning Dove will generally lay two eggs which incubate for 14 days and the nestlings remain in the nest for 12-15 days after hatching. When born they are helpless with eyes closed, sparsely covered in cream colored down, and dependent on adults for warmth.

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Since these birds are so common, they are of low conservation concern. They are vulnerable to lead poisoning while foraging on the ground in heavily hunted areas. Otherwise, they seem to tolerate almost anything.