[Birdtalk] birding experiences

[John Morgan]

Jack,
Can I add an odd Mourning Dove story to yours?

Sunday morn of this current week, I pulled out of the driveway at 7:30 a.m. My street was covered in Doves! Nearly 25 doves were scattered here and there within a 300' length of pavement, some in pairs but mostly as singles. They were slow to get up as the headlights came near. I had to slow down for fear of hitting them. Doves get up early and do dumb things!

It wasn't that the pavement was warm.

Enjoyed your telling of the close brush with certain Hawk Death experience!
John
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Roostertael at aol.com 
  To: birdtalk at utahbirds.org 
  Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 10:48 AM
  Subject: [Birdtalk] birding experiences


  Hi,

  A couple of things. 

  Huntington, McDougal and I started our new list Monday. One unusual sighting was a fly over by a White-faced Ibis at Farmington Bay. (or was it a Glossy?) 

  Oh, and my first bird of the year was a Mourning Dove. 

  I was going to write one fun experience but last night reminded me of another. I was standing at my sliding glass door last night, when several Mourning Doves landed on my platform feeder. One landed on the deck rail. I started to back up slowly as to not scare it when it flattened itself on the rail. I thought it was watching me, but it flew down to the deck and out the bottom as a Cooper's Hawk came over the top of the rail. It missed, but just barely. 

  I guess my # 2 birding experience was when I was setting up my camera on my deck to take some photos of hummingbirds. The lens has a focal length of 4 meters, so I was making sure it would focus on the feeder when I felt something brush by my left shoulder. I turned to see a Cooper's Hawk chasing a hummingbird. It missed because the hummer made it to the neighbors Austrian pine just in the nick of time. Every time I think of that, I wonder what I would have done if I had not been looking through the camera. If I would have had to go, I might have. 

  My number 1 had to be the arrival of the female Rufous Hummingbird that graced me with her presence almost the whole month of November. I have a feeder by my kitchen window that I can see while I am watching television. I was watching the early news when I caught a glimpse of a hummingbird at the feeder. I exploded out of the chair and my dogs thought we were being attacked. They ran out the pet door barking and scared the bird away. I was sure that it had to be an Anna's that late in the year and I had noticed a central spot as it flew away. I went back in the living room and waited. She showed up again and just my movement to get closer scared her away. I went downstairs and got my binoculars out of the safe and waited. Not too long and she arrived at the feeder. Maybe a little disappointment on her not being an Anna's, but that soon faded into excitement each day when I got home and she was still there. I will never know if she finally migrated or perished during those 4 degree nights we had. Quite an emotional roller-coaster. I am not sure if I will have a feeder up late next year or not.

  Happy New Year to all,

  Jack Binch


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