Monday, September 15, 2008

News from the crazy bird lady!

I realize that probably no one but me cares about the birds in my tree, so just humor me!

The other night I was watching my birds at the feeder and two birds showed up that caught my eye. At first I thought they were mourning doves because we get a ton of those in the tree. They were the shape and size of mourning doves, but they were a little lighter in color, they were missing the spots on their feathers that mourning doves have and they had a black band on the back of their necks.

I'm always excited when new birds show up at the feeder (I really need to get a life), so I got right on the internet to try and figure out what kind of birds they are. After much research I discovered something really exciting! They're Eurasian Collared Doves and they're really rare in Idaho! I found an Idaho bird tracking website and they're asking people to send in reports if they see any because they're trying to track them. I won't bore you with the history of these birds, but their migratory history is kind of interesting. They've come a long way to end up in Idaho!
So anyway, by the time I realized what rare birds they are, they were gone. I kept a close eye on the tree and about an hour later they came back around to eat at the feeder again so I grabbed my camera and got a few shots of them before they left again.

They're pretty birds and I'm glad that they chose my tree to rest in! I saw them again for a couple of minutes again this morning, but the mourning doves have kind of taken over the tree and the feeder lately and they kicked them right out. I'm hoping that they didn't get scared off for good because I would love to see them stop by again and try to get some better photos.
So there's the latest story about life at my bird feeder. I'm sure you'll all sleep better tonight now that you've been properly updated. :)


Jeni said...

Those are beautiful birds! Here in Guam we have almost no birds, it's strange!

If the offer is still open I'd love it if you would design a backround for my blog! Let me know!

Wenders11 said...

Sure! Send me an e-mail at and give me an idea of what color scheme you're interested in and I'll work something up for you tomorrow!