Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Columbidae

There was a family of several of these beautiful Mourning Doves the other day, 16 July 2014, along one of the gravel roads just within the SW city limits. I've never yet seen one perched on a fence post, but always way up on a high wire. Not as sharp as I would have liked. "A graceful, slender-tailed, small-headed dove that’s common across the continent. Mourning Doves perch on telephone wires and forage for seeds on the ground; their flight is fast and bullet straight. Their soft, drawn-out calls sound like laments. When taking off, their wings make a sharp whistling or whinnying. Mourning Doves are the most frequently hunted species in North America. The Mourning Dove is the most widespread and abundant game bird in North America. Every year hunters harvest more than 20 million, but the Mourning Dove remains one of our most abundant birds with a U.S. population estimated at 350 million. The oldest known Mourning Dove was 31 years 4 months old." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/mourning_dove/lifehistory Temperatures got up to around 32C or 33C three days ago. My desk thermometer said it was 32C in my computer room, so I knew I just had to get out for a while, to enjoy the air-conditioning in my car. The backroads SW of the city come in handy when I don't want to spend too much time on a drive, and I can usually find something of interest to photograph. Didn't see a whole lot this time, though I did see a Swainson's Hawk perched on a high power pole and the gorgeous Wilson's Snipe that I posted the day before yesterday. Think the Hawk must have been the same one that I have photographed before. It was just so laid back, letting me walk past it along the gravel road, so that I wasn't looking into the sun. Now if only it would perch on a fence post instead : ) Today, the sun is shining, but there are some grey clouds up there. I predict rain - the reason is that yesterday, I washed my car for the first time in several months, and after I've done this, it almost always rains (or snows). My arms and shoulders have been just too painful to do this before, but I managed OK yesterday. I have two long drives coming up in the next little while (both of which I've never done before - yikes!), so I wanted to get rid of the awful build-up of dried mud and gravel dust. Driving the gravel backroads, which I love to do, means that I rarely have a clean car :)

A long-distance shot and heavily cropped, but it just seemed a bit of a waste to delete such sparkling snow and the touch of pink iridescence in this Rock Dove's feathers. Taken on 4 February 2013, down by the open water of the creek in Fish Creek Park, just west of Macleod Trail S. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Dove

A very heavily cropped photo of this Mourning Dove - adding it to my Birds of Alberta set, as I so rarely see these common birds. Photographed when I drove a few backroads SW of Calgary on 23 September 2012. "The Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) is a member of the dove family (Columbidae). The bird is also called the Turtle Dove or the American Mourning Dove or Rain Dove, and formerly was known as the Carolina Pigeon or Carolina Turtledove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds. It is also the leading gamebird, with more than 20 million birds (up to 70 million in some years) shot annually in the U.S., both for sport and for meat. Its ability to sustain its population under such pressure stems from its prolific breeding: in warm areas, one pair may raise up to six broods a year. Its plaintive woo-OO-oo-oo-oo call gives the bird its name. The wings can make an unusual whistling sound upon take-off and landing. The bird is a strong flier, capable of speeds up to 88 km/h (55 mph). Mourning Doves are light grey and brown and generally muted in color. Males and females are similar in appearance. The species is generally monogamous, with two squabs (young) per brood. Both parents incubate and care for the young. Mourning Doves eat almost exclusively seeds, but the young are fed crop milk by their parents." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mourning_Dove www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Dove/id

Finally, I got a chance to photograph a couple of Rock Doves when I was on a walk with friends at Carburn Park yesterday. The last few years, I've wanted to get closer, as they are beautiful birds, even if not very popular with many people. So, I was happy that two Pigeons perched on the railing of the bridge over the Bow River and I was able to capture their beauty. Everyone got a note yesterday, informing us that window-replacement is now starting and that we have to move everything away from all the windows within three feet and remove all blinds/curtains. Yeah, right, I don't think I can even reach them in order to be able to remove them. I noticed that already a couple of new windows are lying against the far, opposite building, so I guess I will be getting a phone call soon to set up which 1-2 days I am available. I think it's eight windows plus my sliding patio door. So, my whole place is going to be in utter chaos (on top of the present mess, ha!). I don't know if the present blinds will fit the new windows and it sounds like they won't put them back, or caulk and paint the new surrounds. To say that I'm not looking forward to all this is the understatement of the year, ha!

Finally, I got a chance to photograph a couple of Rock Doves (Pigeons) when I was on a walk with friends at Carburn Park on February 27th. The last few years, I've wanted to get closer, as they are beautiful birds, even if not very popular with many people. So, I was happy that two Pigeons perched on the railing of the bridge over the Bow River and I was able to capture their beauty.

This unusual bird is in the Australia House at the Calgary Zoo. I have tried to identify it, but have been unable to find any sign of it on Google. Does anyone happen to know what it is. Strange to see a green bird. (Note later: thank you, tristanba, for kindly giving me the ID. Much appreciated!) "The Nicobar Pigeon, Caloenas nicobarica is a pigeon which is a resident breeding bird on small uninhabited islands in Indonesia and the Nicobar Islands. It is the only living member of the genus Caloenas. This is a large, heavy pigeon at 40cm in length. It is mainly metallic green with green and copper hackles on the neck. The head and upper neck, flight feathers and breast are dark grey. The tail is very short and pure white. There is a black knob on the base of the bill, and the strong legs are dark red. This is not a very vocal species, but possesses a low pitched repetitive call. Females are slightly smaller than males; they have a smaller bill knob, shorter hackles and browner underparts. Immature birds have a black tail. The Nicobar Pigeon roams in flocks from island to island, including inhabited sites, seeking its food of seeds, fruit and some invertebrates, and is attracted to areas where grain is available; usually, it sleeps on offshore islets where no predators occur and spends the day in areas with better food availability. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings which are characteristic of pigeons in general. Peculiarly, groups tend to fly in columns or single file, not in a loose flock as most other pigeons do; the white tail seems to serve as a sort of "taillight" when crossing water at dawn or dusk. These observations are also supported by inexperienced birds, which could lead a group astray, lacking this feature. This species nests in dense forest, building a stick nest in a tree and laying one elliptical, faintly blue-tinged white egg. Conservation status: Near Threatened." From Wikipedia.