Steve, tweets,

Down here in King County Mourning Doves continue to be rare and local. One can't, for example, set out on a given day and expect to find them. Rather, one stumbles on one or two while out birding, mostly in the Kent to Auburn areas and at such open areas as Marymoor Park. The situation does not seem to be significantly different now than it was in the 1970s, as far as I can judge.

However, we are on the lookout for collared doves after the first county record last summer in Sammamish.

Gene Hunn
18476 47th Pl. NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
enhunn323 at comcast.net

----- Original Message -----
From: sgmlod at aol.com
To: Tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 1:43 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Mourning Doves


Good Morning

Okay, horrid joke, especially as it's 1:30 pm.

MODOs were pretty uncommon in Snohomish County when I first moved here. In summer I'd pretty much just see them around the Everett Sewage Treatment Ponds, and in winter, a few here and there in ag areas. Just a couple times per winter, usually just a few birds.

Over the last 15 years this has changed. I see them all year long in a wide variety of (usually) ag areas (though on Whidbey I've seen them in the semi-open coniferous woods near Partridge Point). In winter, it is not unusual to see large numbers (20-60) in the Stilly or Snohomish Valleys. I see at least a couple almost every day I go birding in open areas of Snoho and Skagit Counties and fairly frequently (small nos, like 1-2) on Whidbey Island.

So, they seem to be increasing rather dramatically. But this open land they prefer has been here (Puget Trough) for quite some time, and so I know not why. MODOs are not particularly effected by cold weather, unless it's prolonged, so I don't see our warming as a potential cause.

A winter or two ago, Charlie Wright, Ryan Shaw and I had 600+ in Cowlitz County in one Blueberry Field (it did seem like forever), and that appeared to be a w. Washington record by quite a bit. So, I suspect the increase may throughout w. WA.

Cheers
Steve Mlodinow
Everett WA

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