Thursday, December 09, 2010

Mourning Dove Closeup and More

Another close up image from my feeder session using the pop-up blind came when a Mourning Dove lit on a nearby log.  Doves are ground feeders and will not perch on our naturalized feeders; perferring to forage on the seed that other birds have scattered on the ground.  Other species like the fox and white-throat sparrows share the doves preference for ground feeding making it more difficult to photograph them well as compared to the perching birds.

Birds are not the only critters to visit the feeders as can be seen here with one eye looking out of woodpecker hole.   

 To my knowledge the Pileated Woodpeckers are the only woodpecker species in our area who chisel rectangular holes. 

7 comments:

Arija said...

Beautiful mourning dove and I love the peek-a-boo, I see you shot!

Kelly said...

Wow........the photo of the squirrel peeping out of the hole is a winner. Composition is perfect...image is stunning. I really like it. It's cute to boot!!

...and the Northern Flicker shots in the previous post--wow, again! The colors are so vivid and detail is beautiful. Flickers are so photogenic but often hard to get. I really enjoyed them.

Chris said...

Hi Coy,
The mourning dove shot is beautiful but mate, this squirrel is exquisite, a perfect and funny image! Well done!

I missed this flicker post, but wow, wow wow, this is becoming one of my favorite bird from your area and it is on my "to see" list!! Gorgeous pictures you got of it!

Elaine said...

That shot of the squirrel is really a winner and the mourning dove shot is lovely!

Nancy said...

Super shot of the squirrel (say that 3 times fast -- ha!) Looks like he's peeking though a little window. So cute.

I haven't seen many mourning doves around this year. I think I have too many cats outside. :(

Montanagirl said...

Terrific shot of that squirrel eye-balling you from the hole! The Dove shot is nice as well. I have discovered Doves (we have about 3 doz. Eurasian Collared Doves) sitting up on my feeder tree in a hanging tray more than once! I was a little shocked the first time I saw that, as I thought they were strictly ground feeders. They also get up in the feeder tray on my deck rail!

Shadow said...

Beautiful photos!