June 2017https://www.birdobserver.org/Issues/2017/June-2017Field Notes: Nesting Mourning Doves Tolerate Human Presencehttps://www.birdobserver.org/Issues/2017/June-2017/field-notes-nesting-mourning-doves-tolerate-human-presenceField NotesThu, 01 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMTField Notes: Nesting Mourning Doves Tolerate Human Presence<p class="caption"><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/Assets/bo45-3/Image_045.jpg" style="width: 472px; height: 244px;" title="" /><br /> <strong>Fig. 3.</strong> The young birds are feathering out.</p> <p>What I found interesting in my neighbor&rsquo;s nesting pair of Mourning Doves was their tolerance of human disturbance and presence. The homeowners, Robert and Janice Giannetti, frequently spent hours sitting on their porch less than eight feet from the nest and persons walking up to their side door would pass within two feet of the nest. At one point, Janice put her hand within six inches of the sitting adult dove but it did not flush and its only response was to slightly raise some of its back feathers. Once while I was photographing the nest, there were four adult humans present, talking and walking around. This instance of tolerance for human intrusion is not unique. An early study of Mourning Dove nesting found that about one sixth of nesting Mourning Doves stayed on their nests until touched or nearly so before flying (Nice 1923). Clearly, Mourning Doves are genetically driven to remain on the nest while incubating and brooding.</p> <p class="caption"><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/Assets/bo45-3/Image_046.jpg" style="width: 465px; height: 211px;" title="" /><br /> <strong>Fig. 4.</strong> One fledgling moments after flying from the nest for the first time.</p> <p>Mourning Doves have a suite of adaptations that promote multiple brooding and saving energy during reproduction. These adaptations include the building of minimal nest structures, reuse of old nests including those of other species, rapid nestling growth, and early fledging (Mirarchi and Baskett 1994). In her study of mourning Doves, Nice (1922) reported that about 15% of Mourning Dove nests were re-used nests of a variety of species including robins, mockingbirds, House Sparrows, Common Grackles, and Mourning Doves.</p> <p class="caption"><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/Assets/bo45-3/Image_047.jpg" style="width: 236px; height: 177px;" title="" /><br /> <strong>Fig. 5.</strong> Mourning Doves nesting in a dorm room at Wheaton College, Massachusetts. Photograph courtesy of John Kricher.</p> <p>Mourning Dove nests are so flimsy that you can sometimes see the eggs through the bottom of the nest. Man-made structures are often sturdy and protected, thus supplying structural support and protection for flimsy nests. It seems possible that tolerance for human disturbance contributes to the frequency of use of man-made structures for nesting and may be a prerequisite for doing so. I speculate that if the tolerance of human disturbance when incubating or brooding indeed has a genetic component, then during storms when flimsy nests in trees are at risk, the use of secure man-made structures and its concomitant tolerance of human disturbance may be characteristics selected for. There are many bird species that have adapted to the use of man-made structures for nesting&mdash;the Chimney Swift (<em>Chaetura pelagica</em>) is perhaps the most obvious. Perhaps the Mourning Dove is evolving in that direction.</p> <h3>Literature cited</h3> <ul> <li>Davis, W. E., Jr. 2014. Mourning Doves Nest on Man-made Structure. <em>Bird Observer</em> 42: 100-101.</li> <li>Mirarchi, R. E., and T. S. Baskett. 1994. Mourning Dove (<em>Zenaida macroura</em>). In <em>The Birds of North America</em>, No. 117 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists&rsquo; Union.</li> <li>Nice, M. M. 1922. A study of the nesting of Mourning Doves, part 1. <em>Auk</em> 39: 457-474.</li> <li>Nice, M. M. 1923. A study of the nesting of Mourning Doves, part 2. <em>Auk</em> 40: 37-58.</li> <li>Sayre, M. W., and N. J. Silvy. 1993. Nesting and Production. Pp. 81-104 in T. S. Baskett, M. W. Sayre, R. E. Tomlinson, and R. E. Mirarchi, eds., <em>Ecology and Management of the Mourning Dove</em>. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books.</li> </ul> <hr /> <p><em>Ted wishes to thank John Kricher for his helpful comments on the manuscript and Janice and Robert Giannetti for bringing attention to this nesting pair of Mourning Doves.</em></p> Field Notes: Great Gray Owlhttps://www.birdobserver.org/Issues/2017/June-2017/field-notes-great-gray-owlField NotesThu, 01 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMTField Notes: Great Gray Owl<p>Most of the people watching were in a single group as the owl briefly sat in a white pine about fifty yards away, except for one woman, Marsha Richelli, standing by herself in the middle of the field, watching from afar. The owl took off from its prominent branch to begin its evening hunt and glided down to the center of the field where a lone perch appeared to stand. The last thing anyone could have expected was for the owl to choose to perch on a human being, but to the owl, she looked like a perfect place to sit and hunt from, with access to the field around her. She became the center of attention for a good fifteen seconds as the Great Gray stood on her head and looked around. Amazingly, she stood still and was very calm as the huge owl gently put down. The owl soon realized that its perch was alive and took off to find an inanimate spot to hunt from. As it left the site, I decided I had observed this wonder for long enough and started my journey home. That day, I earned an awesome lifer and created an incredible memory!</p> <p>Of note: as a boreal species, Great Gray Owls are fairly unaccustomed to humans and have little experience with us. In addition to Great Grays not having a natural fear of us, this bird was also identified as a first-year individual by the pale tips to its primaries. This may indicate that it is an inexperienced bird, and therefore didn&rsquo;t think much of us when we were in its area. This bird, to my knowledge, has never been baited at this site, so there should be no reason to believe that it had been coerced or manipulated into landing on this woman&rsquo;s head. This experience&nbsp;was all pure luck, and I felt very appreciative&nbsp;to be in the right spot at the right time.</p>