Mourning Dove--Zenaida macroura

Mourning Dove at Huntington Central Park.

The mournful calling of the Mourning Dove filled my childhood in the San Gabriel Valley. That sound is one of my earliest memories as I was put to bed on a summer evening. It is a sound that even today brings back the smell of eucalyptus in our yard and the memories of mounds of snowy, white clusters of sweet alyssum in the flowerbeds. Sounding so like the owl, the cooing of the Mourning Doves felt comforting and put me to sleep many hot, summer evenings long before the sun went down.

What's up, Doc?

In 2005, they estimated the populations of Mourning Doves in the United States to be just over 400 million birds. Although the Mourning Dove is a very common bird, it is also a very cute bird and can be rather endearing. I love to watch them. And I love the way they poke around the gravel, the patio, and the dirt, and the way their wings make a whistling sound as they fly away. This little Mourning Dove (above) was interested in the goings on in the apartment above.

Looking for seeds.

Mourning Doves eat seeds. They pick through things on the ground and eat the seeds and grain. I often find them on the ground on my patio sifting through the dirt or through the seeds that have fallen from the bird feeder. Less commonly, they will also eat insects and fruit. According to Sibley, members of the Pigeon and Dove families are able to suck up water, rather than scoop it up and tilting the head back to swallow. Sibley comments that this is a safer way to drink since sucking up water is faster than the scoop-and-tilt method. (The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior, page 321.) The folks at the Chipperwood Observatory point out that the amount of weed seeds a Mourning Dove consumes make the species a pretty good weed control method. My indoor cats love to watch them through the window as the Mourning Doves forage in our yard.

A pair of Mourning Doves.

Mourning Doves mate for life which can be from an average of under two years to-- in rare cases-- almost 20 years. (Although some resources imply Mourning Doves mate for a season, Chipperwood Observatory states that banding data suggests they mate for life.) Mourning Doves are plentiful in the United States, and they may be hunted in season in some areas. Both the male and female attend the flimsy nest with the male taking a shift in the middle of the morning to later part of the afternoon. They both begin feeding the hatched nestlings a substance called crop milk, and then shift over time to the seeds that will provide the bulk of their diets as adults. Pigeons and Doves all feed nestlings crop milk which is like a cheesey fat and lipid-and-protein-packed food that is filled with nutrients for growing nestlings. The Mourning Dove has only 2 eggs per nest and that is about all that their supply of crop-milk will sustain.

Wading.

As Seattle's BirdWeb points out, they are the most slender member of the Pigeon and Dove family. The male is slightly larger, has a slightly blue crown and nape. His throat and breast have a rosy or pinkish wash. The female is grayer in color. Both have large spots on their backs and a thin, tapering tail. An immature Mourning Dove's feather's look a bit scaly. The Mourning Dove is quite prolific, raising three and more broods in one breeding season. The breeding season runs from March through September.

Laying Low.

The Mourning Dove's range is from Canada south through Panama in Central America. Only the northern populations migrate. It is a species that fills our cities and our countryside. The Mourning Dove like Woodlands and forests near grasslands or meadow.

Afternoon exercises. Wing stretch. Left, right. Left...

This twosome I saw were very cute. Not sure what this little dove was doing, but she started stretching out one wing and then the other repeatedly. She bonked her mate on the head, but he just moved out of the way.

Right. Oops. Sorry, honey.

Perhaps only a species that mates for life could be so tolerant.

Mourning Dove at Huntington Central Park. Looks like a male. Notice the rosy wash.

I see them so many places I go birding in Orange County. They are in the trees and on the paths of San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Central Park, and Santiago Oaks. The only places I don't see them are right on the beach.

Mourning Doves are one of those common birds that if you just watch you fall in love with and helps you remember that part of bird watching is studying bird behavior, not just racking up the numbers and hitting the marks. Being intimately acquainted with a species is just as important as seeing a lot of birds. Sitting and observing is part of the thing we birders love to do. Sometimes we forget as we run off to find the next bird that the life in front of us is worth tarrying for. Worth trying to understand a little better.

As you go birding in Orange County, remember to tarry, even in your own back yard and become acquainted with the species you live with all year round. It is the essence of birding.

Mourning Dove Goes Courting from OC Birder Girl on Vimeo.

OC Birder Girl Links

Birding Hot Spots in Orange County, California

Lots of parks and places to see Mourning Doves.

Central Park in Huntington Beach

Great place to see Mourning Doves.

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

There are Mourning Doves here and there in the trees and on the paths and out in the wetlands. Not as easy to spot as Central Park in Huntington Beach, but they are there.

San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary

Great place to see Mourning Doves. I often see them near the Audubon House in the trees or in the butterfly garden.

External Links and Resources

All About Birds: Mourning Dove

Detailed article from Cornell Lab in New York about the Mourning Dove.

Animal Diversity Web: Mourning Dove

Great detailed article about the Mourning Dove.

Bird Web: Mourning Dove

Good article from the Seattle Audubon Society on Mourning Doves.

CROP MILK AND CLUTCH SIZE IN MOURNING DOVES

(Wilson Bulletin: Vol. 101, No. 1, January-March, 1989) Good detailed article on relation of crop milk to number of eggs laid and nestlings raised.

Internet Bird Collection: American Mourning Dove

Good quality videos of Mourning Doves.

Mourning Dove in Missouri

Good Article about Mourning Doves. Don't forget to click on the navigation links on the left side of their page for more informaton.

Wildlife Habitat Council: Mourning Dove

Long and detailed PDF article about the Mourning Dove.

USGS: Mourning Dove

Short, but good article.

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Gopher Visits Alice's

The Hole at Alice's Breakfast in the Park.

One day my mother and I took a walk at Huntington Central Park. There at the far end of Alice's Breakfast in the Park was a hole. Now that was different. Then something popped out of the hole.

What's up?

He ducked down. Then up again, pushing a small load of damp, sandy earth up onto the ground. Check out his claws in my pictures in this post. Gophers have really large claws so they can dig their holes. Like a built in rake and shovel. Their back feet and strong legs are made for burrowing.
The can move forward and backwards in their tunnels. The tunnels they build have different functions. They build holes like this one near the surface to look for food--usually roots and tubers like carrots or potatoes or turnips. Pocket Gophers also eat other plant material including seeds and cereal crops. They are not picky. They eat all kinds of plants from native plants to ornamental plants. The tunnels that make up their homes area further underground. They build the deeper tunnels of 1 to 3 yards for their living area: their nest, their bathroom area, and of course places they store the food they find while foraging. The surface tunnels are helpful to find food, but carry some danger as well. After all being so close to the surface, predators like owls and Coyotes. can hear them in their surface tunnels. In the Sora article below, a zoologist name C.A. Tryon, Jr. from the University of Montana observed a Great Gray Owl break through such a surface tunnel. Tryon thinks that when the Gopher went up to repair the hole, the owl got him. Gophers like to stop up or plug their tunnel entrances. Other rodents like California Ground Squirrels or moles may keep them open. The mounds they leave are often crescent shapes according to the County of Los Angeles. Keeps out some predators. Doing all that digging gets messy. Pocket Gophers have tear ducts that make a lot of tears that keep dirt and other gunk out of their eyes. Their fur is often very similar to the ground in which they have their homes. Good camouflage.

Excavation.

At Alice's Breakfast in the Park, a little girl began screaming. The parents stepped in and calmed and redirected kids wanting to touch him. Look at the pictures. Notice his large, yellow front teeth. No Crest Strips for this guy. His front teeth actually are in front of his lips so that he can using them in his digging an cutting plan roots.

Eating duck food. Struck the mother lode!

The gopher had lots of space in his fur-lined pouch to store food. He started looking like his face was swollen. He filled his pouch with grain up to his shoulders. The pouches, like the pockets after which these Gophers are names, can be turned inside out to empty its contents in the store room that are in the deeper tunnels of the Gopher's home. You may wonder how they get their water. They get all the moisture they need from the plants they eat.

The ducks and the gopher competed for food.

The Ducks and the gopher really chowed down. The Gopher got stepped on by an American Coot. Mallards were eating, too.

The American Coot checks out the Gopher hole.

Everyone began guessing as to what it could be. Everyone had their own idea. Then finally one man said with authority, "It's a gopher!" And he was right. He is a pocket gopher to be exact. A Valley or Botta's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae). He was a really big hit with children and adults. He got lots of food and made plenty of new friends.

What a day!

Gophers are not usually that social. In fact, they pretty much out to look for a mate and then go back to their solitary digging. They get pretty feisty and aggressive with other Gophers if they meet up outside of breeding season. They breed and give birth to young twice a year in February and October. Pocket Gophers are prey for different kinds of Coyotes, owls, hawks, and even Great Blue Herons. Gophers are also hunted by badgers, ferrets, snakes, and other
mammals. Especially in the Western United States where we live, Great Blue Herons love gophers and eat them more often than Great Blue Herons in other areas. Other large egrets and herons may eat them as well. They are often hunted by humans who are upset by the damage they do to landscaping and wires.

He was as curious as we were.

So when you are out birding, don't forget to look down. You never know what you might see.

Checking things out.

If you see a gopher, remember that gophers are wild, so always exercise caution.

Wow, what a place! Everyone loves Alice's Breakfast in the Park!

Last time I went by Alice's Breakfast in the Park the gopher hole was filled in, and he had moved on. But you should still check out Alice's Breakfast in the Park--hits the spot on a nice morning in the park. Great place for birders to stop by as they go birding in Central Park in Huntington Beach. It is just around the Shipley Nature Center . How often can you go to one of Orange County's best birding hotspots and get a great breakfast and the most delicious cinnamon role or muffin that you've ever had baked fresh right there? They take bakery orders, too. Go birding and pick up freshly baked goods to take home. Alice Gustafson, wife of John Gustafson (owner of the World Famous End Café on Huntington Beach Pier before a storm swept it away) opened this great place up 28 years ago. People bring their dogs--the dog park is nearby. They serve the dogs, too. You can sit and bird and people watch at the same time. Easy to bird the lake from your table outside. You look up in the trees and can see Cooper's Hawks , and Audubon Yellow-Rumped Warblers . Common yellowthroats call from the marshy grass. Eat inside or outside. It's a treat either way for breakfast or lunch. Check it out.

The Most Awesomeist Thing in the World! from OC Birder Girl on Vimeo.

Some of the Many Birds I have seen while at Alice's or Nearby:

Double-crested Cormorant--Phalacrocorax auritus

American White Pelicans--Pelecanus erythrorhynchos...

Western Grebes--Aechmophorus occidentalis

Eared Grebe--Podiceps nigricollis

Great Blue Heron--Ardea herodias

Great Egret--Ardea alba

Snowy Egret--Egretta thula

Green Heron--Butorides virescens

Black-crowned Night Heron--Nycticorax nycticorax

American Avocet--Recurvirostra americana

Black-necked Stilt--Himantopus mexicanus

Forester's Tern

American Coot--Fulica americana

Caspian Tern

American Wigeon--Anas americana

Canada Geese

Mallards--Anas platyrhynchos

Eurasian Wigeon--Anas penelope--A Rare Bird

Northern Shoveler--Anas clypeata

Red-Tailed Hawk--Buteo jamaicensis

Cooper's Hawk--Accipiter cooperii

Osprey--Pandion haliaetus

Turkey Vultures--Cathartes aura

American Crow

Cedar Waxwing--Bombycilla cedrorum

Mourning Dove--Zenaida macroura

House Finch--Carpodacus mexicanus

White-crowned Sparrows--Zonotrichia leucophrys

Common Yellowthroat

Audubon Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Red-winged Black Bird

Hooded Oriole

Bullock's Oriole

Allen's Hummingbird---Selasphorus sasin

Anna's Hummingbird--Calypte anna

Black Phoebe--Sayornis nigricans

OC Birder Girl Links

American Coot--Fulica americana

A Tale of Two Coots

Central Park in Huntington Beach

Mallards--Anas platyrhynchos

Odd Ducks

Wood Duck or Mandarin Duck?

A Walk Among the Fall Leaves at Huntington Central Park

A Walk in Huntington Central Park West 10/15/2007

The Wild Ducks of Orange County

External Links and Resources

Alice's Breakfast in the Park

Alice's in the Park is open into 2010. Alice's is an awesome place with great cinnamon roles.
Check it out. You can eat inside or outside.

America Zoo: Botta's Pocket Gopher

Great short article with pictures.

Animal Diversity Web: Pocket Gophers

Very good article.

Desert USA: Botta's Pocket Gopher

Very good article. Check out the really neat video
of a Botta's Gopher digging.

Huntington Central Park

Los Angeles County: Gophers

National Wildlife Federation: Bird of Myth and Elegance By Les Line

Short bit of information in this article on egrets and herons.

Mammals of California

Smithsonian Natural History Museum: Botta's Pocket Gopher

Good short Article.

Sora:
The Great Gray Owl as a Predator on Pocket Gophers

You will have to page down on the Sora page to see this short
article. Great observations from this older article.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: Pocket Gophers

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Acorn Woodpecker--Melanerpes formicivorus

Male Acorn Woodpecker clinging to a utility pole used as a granary (storehouse) tree for its family group. At Irvine Regional Park in the City of Orange.

Acorn Woodpeckers are part of the history of Orange County. They are closely connected to mature Oak Woodlands. Oak Woodlands are part of the larger landscape of California. In the report Oak Woodland Bird Conservation Plan, it states that "Oak woodlands have the richest wildlife species abundance of any habitat in California, with over 330 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians depending on them at some stage in their life cycle." That type of habitat is a habitat worth preserving. The mature oak woodlands in Orange County are important to our wildlife. Irvine Regional Park , O'Neil Regional Park, Santiago Regional Park and wilderness areas preserve these precious oak woodlands for the future generations of Orange County. Acorn Woodpeckers are an integral part of our Oak Woodlands.

Acorn Woodpecker--Tree Inspection from OC Birder Girl on Vimeo.

Acorns and the mistletoe that grows on the oaks provide food for many birds including Wood Ducks, California Quail, Western Blue Birds, Scrub Jays, Phainopeplas, Steller's Jays, Nuttall’s Woodpeckers, Lewis Woodpeckers, and Acorn Woodpeckers. The large, mature trees provide homes for both cup-nesting species and cavity-nesting birds, and the large branches cover for many other species.

Acorn Woodpecker Granary Tree in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, California .

Acorn Woodpeckers are found most often in mixed oak woodlands and seem to like the oak woodlands that have pine trees the most. They rely on acorns in the winter that they have stored in holes they've drilled in tree trunks and other large objects. These trees pock-marked with thousands of holes are called granary trees. The softer pine trees make great granary trees in which to drill holes and store acorns. The Acorn Woodpeckers also store acorns in mature oaks with thick bark, dead oak trees or oak-tree limbs, phone poles, in building walls, under roof tiles, pine cones, and even in boulder crevices or in softer stone that they drill holes in. I heard one story of a house in an oak woodlands that had a wall opened for repairs only to find it packed with acorns. In the All About Birds article, it tells of a a wooden water storage tank that was stuffed with 485 pounds of acorns by a colony of Acorn Woodpeckers. But mostly it is trees are drilled and stuffed with acorns. Some of the oak trees are over a 100 year old, and a granary tree may be used for generations and generations of Acorn Woodpeckers. It is a valuable cache to be guarded, and this food larder keeps the colony of Acorn Woodpeckers in the local area all year long.

A closer look at the granary tree.

The Acorn Woodpecker is often called the "clown bird" because of its bold red, white, and black patterns which are reminiscent of circus clowns. The white eyes stand out against the black sides of its head. Its wings also have bold patterns of black and white like many woodpeckers. The female has a black stripe on her forehead between the white and the red. The male has only white and red on the forehead. The immature looks has no black stripe and has a dark eye. It has a loud, raucous call that draws attention to it. The call is variously described as "waka-waka-waka" (All About Birds), "Waka" (repeated) by National Geographic's Field Guide, "wheka, wheka or RACK-up, RACK-up" (Sibly), and "ja-cob, ja-cob", "wake-up, wake-up" (What Bird). You get the idea. And it's loud. Did I mention that?

Oak Woodlands--Oak Canyon Nature Center from OC Birder Girl on Vimeo. 

Acorn Woodpeckers eat lots of acorns and other nuts such as pecans. They also eat insects which they catch either in the air like a flycatcher or which they pick off the leaves of the trees in the woodlands. They also gather to drink the sap from holes they drill for that use. The holes are used for years. Acorn Woodpeckers also eat fruit and oak catkins (flowers), and flower nectar. They also will eat nestlings, eggs, and bats. Though these last three are uncommon. By far, the favorite food seems to be acorns.

Oak Canyon Nature Center

Acorn Woodpeckers are a group kind of bird. They breed and raise their young in groups. There are two or so female Acorn Woodpeckers that mate and lay eggs. There about 1-7 males that mate with the 1-3 breeding females. The rest of the Acorn Woodpecker Colony take care of the young. Beyond breeding season, the birds still stick together for warmth and to guard their food sources. Other birds like chickadees and Scrub Jays steal their acorns out of their granary tree. So the colony needs to make sure they are watching the cache of acorns by watching and defending the granary tree. Similarly, they watch the sap trees that they have drilled sap wells into. Other woodpeckers and Allen's Hummingbirds are very interested in the sap wells drilled by Acorn Woodpeckers.

Oak trees at Oak Canyon Nature Center in Anaheim Hills.

In addition to being loud and raucous, the gregarious Acorn Woodpeckers are also somewhat aggressive. They vie for top breeder by getting rid of and eating the other females eggs. And they can eat nestling and even bats on occasion. These are not shy retiring birds. The competition for top breeder can become brutal.

Acorn Woodpecker on a Granary Tree that is a Phone pole. His short little legs make it easy to stay close to the pole as he climbs.

Acorn Woodpecker range depends a lot on available food. It is a Western Bird. It is resident in Western Oregon, California, New Mexico, Arizona, western Texas, Western Mexico, and south through Central America, with a sprinkling of Acorn Woodpeckers in the Andes in Columbia. It is rare in Washington and there is a tiny area where they are resident in Southern Washington.

Acorn Woodpecker--Stocking the Larder from OC Birder Girl on Vimeo.

There are lots of great places to see Acorn Woodpeckers in Orange County. Check out the links below and you may find a place near you where you can see Acorn Woodpeckers. They are fun to see. Have a great time birding in Orange County! Don't miss the loud and rowdy Acorn Woodpecker.

You Tube Video of a White-breasted Nuthatch stealing an acorn from granary tree.

Places to Find Acorn Woodpeckers

Places you would find Acorn Woodpeckers would be areas with lots of oak trees. Some of these would be:

Aliso And Wood Canyons Wilderness Park

Caspers Wilderness Park

Crystal Cove State Park

(Wooded areas with oak trees or near such an area. Areas by the ocean or grassland areas with no oaks will probably not have Acorn Woodpeckers.)


Carbon Canyon Regional Park

Donna O'Neill Land Conservancy

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park

Oak Canyon Nature Center

Santiago Oaks Regional Park

Starr Ranch Sanctuary

Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park

Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary

Notice the stiff tail feathers that help woodpeckers as they climb trees.

OC Birder Girl Links

Allen's Hummingbird---Selasphorus sasin

Irvine Open Space Preserve Nature Center

Irvine Regional Park in Orange, California

Checking the acorns. Male Acorn Woodpecker.

External Links and Resources

All About Birds from Cornell Ornithology Lab

Informative and thorough article about the Acorn Woodpecker includes range maps, behavior, reproduction, diet, photos, and sound.

Animal Diversity Web: melanerpes formicivorus--Acorn Woodpecker

Detailed, article with lots of good information about especially about their diet, behavior, habitat, and conservation status. Covers economic impact on humans.

BirdWeb: Acorn Woodpecker

Article from the Audubon Society of Seattle. Washington is at the Northern edge of the range of the Acorn Woodpecker.

The Birds of North American Courtesy Preview: Acorn Woodpecker

Good Article--or at least part of it that gives some good information about the Acorn Woodpecker.

California Oak Foundation

Organization about the protection of oaks in California. Lots of information.

Enhancing Oak Woodland Habitat for Birds at Your Home or Ranch

About preserving Oak Woodland Habitat on your own land.

Hastings Reserve: Oak Woodlands--Introduction and Overview

Good information on Oak Woodlands from UC Davis' Hasting Reserve where there is an on-going 37-year research project on Acorn Woodpeckers.

Oak Woodland Bird Conservation Plan
California plan to preserve Oak Woodlands and the birds that depend on them.

US Geological Survey: Acorn Woodpecker

Short article on the Acorn Woodpecker. Photos. Don't forget to click the links at the left of the USGS page for more information.

WILD CALIFORNIA OAK WOODLANDS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Great Bibliography of websites on the web.

The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

Helps people develop wildlife habitat on their land.

Notice the white on the forehead. Females have a black area between the red head and white forehead, so this is a male.

Journal Articles

Bat Predation by the Acorn Woodpecker

(Western Birds: Vol. 35, No. 1, 2004) Yuk. Laine MacTaguetells us about Acorn Woodpeckers that sometimes eat bats.

Hummingbird Association with Acorn Woodpecker Sap Trees in Colombia

Journal article from The Condor about hummingbirds drinking the sap from holes drilled by Acorn Woodpeckers.

NEST-SITE SELECTION IN THE ACORN WOODPECKER
(Auk: Vol. 116, No. 1, January-March, 1999) PHILIP N. HOOGE, MARK T. STANBACK, and WALTER D. KOENIG talk about what type of sites Acorn Woodpeckers on the Hastings Reserve tended to pick and speculate why. They also tell us which types of nest sites where most successful.





Energetic Benefits of Communal Roosting by Acorn Woodpeckers During the Nonbreeding Season
(Condor: Vol. 96, No. 3, May-June, 1994) Those scientists from the Hastings Reserve share their research and thoughts about the benefits of communal living all year long for Acorn Woodpeckers.






Food Storage By Acorn Woodpeckers at the Santa Rosa Plateau Preserve, Santa Ana Mountains, California
(Western Birds: Vol. 23, No. 4, 1992) Scientists from Southern California share where and what Acorn Woodpeckers at the Santa Rosa Plateau have been storing.








Acorn Woodpecker Predation on Cliff Swallow Nests



(Condor: Vol. 89, No. 1, January-February, 1987)









Foraging Behavior of the Acorn Woodpecker in Belize, Central America



(Condor: Vol. 83, No. 4, July-August, 1981). Various ways Acorn Woodpeckers find and gather food.

Acorn Woodpecker on a telephone pole at Oak Canyon Nature Center in Anaheim Hills trying to decide which hole gets the acorn

Video

Internet Bird Collection: Acorn Woodpecker

Good quality videos.

Storage Solution: Acorn Woodpeckers from National Geographic

Great short video about Acorn Woodpecker's habit of storing acorns. Followed by other generic bird videos from National Geographic.

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