[foxycharlotte]

So the other day I turned on the sprinkler to water the lawn and create a cool breeze for our chickens so they wouldn't get to hot in the afternoon. I went out to check on the water and a white winged dove was sitting at the edge of the watering area getting wet. Even though I approached in its sight line and even touched it trying to get it to leave so that it would be out of the way when I moved the sprinkler it didn't leave. It took it a good five minutes of me lightly tapping it to make it go away.

Has anyone seen a dove do this? I live in a small town (<3000) people. I've just never seen a dove so docile enough to let someone touch it. Could it be that because we have chickens it didn't feel threatened?

 

[Grabby]

Maybe it was exhausted and/or injured and it flew off after it had cooled off and rested.

 

[foxycharlotte]

It could have been exhausted (the hi temp that day was 99 with 105 heat index), but I still wouldn't think it would want to be touched. Even exhausted wild animals tend to try to move away from people.

 

[revolutionrocknroll]

I've found lost and exhausted white doves and have brought them to wildlife sanctuaries. The people there have told me something very sad- people will set domestic doves free at weddings and the poor birds aren't trained to return home and don't know how to survive in the wild so most of them die.

Edit: Sorry, I thought you typed "white dove" but saw you typed "white winged dove" instead. I believe that's a wild species. It may have been tired, hot, and/or sick?

 

[foxycharlotte]

I was just glad that it flew off of its own accord and met up with another white wing dove. The heat down here in Texas is almost unbearable in the afternoon unless there is some shade.

 

[Rain]

Here in E. Texas the inca doves used to let me get pretty close but never near enough to touch. The mourning doves usually fly off as soon as I come in sight, and the ring neck doves are also pretty wary. Maybe the white winged doves are more like the inca doves and the one you saw is used to being fed at someones feeder?

 

[foxycharlotte]

Here in E. Texas the inca doves used to let me get pretty close but never near enough to touch. The mourning doves usually fly off as soon as I come in sight, and the ring neck doves are also pretty wary. Maybe the white winged doves are more like the inca doves and the one you saw is used to being fed at someones feeder?

That could definitely be the case. We don't feed the wild birds because we don't want all the poop, but if someone close has a feeder they would definitely be more comfortable around people.

 

[leashedForLife]

Rock doves AKA 'city pigeons' are among the earliest domesticated animals

no one wants to admit it, but Rock Doves [native to Europe, N Africa, & parts of India, they nested on stony cliffs] are long-time human companions.
All the pigeons in every U-S city are descended from imported birds who escaped - they are easily re-domesticated, hardy, excellent parents, & faithful spouses.

If i'm not mistaken, the ring-neck doves in Texas, like the parrots of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco, are descendants of caged birds - & are not native.
'Quaker Parakeets' are incredibly hardy & invasive; there are large colonies in L-A, San Fran, Seattle, & Chicago, & they're breeding in Va Beach & Norfolk, VA - no one wants to TAKE DOWN their messy colony nests, as local residents do not understand the hazard they pose, & complain loudly to their local reps & city councils.

Quakers AKA Monk Parakeets like to build their multi-story twig complexes ON TRANSFORMERS & other power-company infrastructure; they cause hundreds of fires & local power outages annually.
They drive farmers crazy - they eat fruits, seeds, grains, & nuts in huge, huge quantities. They are very destructive of crops of all kinds, devouring them by the pound in minutes because they travel in such large flocks. // Once they've stripped the area, they move to the next one.

The white-winged doves & mourning doves are native species - the incredible fecundity of Passenger Pigeons was no defense from market hunters, who blew them out of the sky by the thousands.

- terry