Dermot Breen's Blog: american mourning dove

Saturday, 6 April 2019

Mourning Dove, Doonloughaun, 16th November 2018

A few pictures were posted on Facebook on 12th November from teh Ballyconneely arera which showed a Mourning Dove. All attempts by myself to get further information from the poster were ignored and I got the impression that birdwatchers wouldn't be entertained which was perfectly understandable if the homeowner didn't want twitchers peering into their garden. That was that until out of the blue Mark Stewart had been in touch with the same person a few days later and managed to find out that the bird was still present and that birders were free to come and see the bird.
I was due to leave for Myanmar on the following Monday and would be away over the weekend so Friday the 16th would be my only chance of catching up with the bird. Seamus Feeney had been on site and had seen the bird first thing in the morning. There was no immediate sign when I arrived but it wasn't too long before it showed up feeding amongst House Sparrows and hens beside the house. It was a fairly relaxed bird. Paul Moore had come up from Cork for the bird having missed the first two Irish records. The first Irish record is also from Galway, found on Inishbofin on 2nd November 2007 and was present for about a fortnight. The second record was recorded from Garnish Island, Co. Cork on 25th October 2009 but was all too brief.
Unfortunately the Ballyconneely bird was last seen on the Friday and disappointed quite a few birders who had waited to see it on the Saturday. This is only the second American land bird for the Slyne Head peninsula with the only previous record being an American Buff-bellied Pipit seen just over a kilometre away to the east at Truska in October 2010. I would have expected a few others in my coverage over the last decade.

Mourning Dove

Tuesday, 27 November 2012

Florida 8th November 2012

Spend the whole day at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. This 140,000 acres refuge is located just off Titusville on the East/Atlantic coastline and lies right beside the NASA John F. Kennedy Space Centre.
I tried the Oak and Hammock Trail first thing in the morning but it proved to be very quiet with just a Hermit Thrush and a family party of wild Hogs being the only things of note. Dropped into the visitor centre where I had Pileated Woodpecker, a pair of Painted Buntings at the feeders and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker behind the centre. Next was the Peacocks Pocket Road and impoundments around the Gator Road, great selection of wildfowl all viewable at close quarters right beside the road - American Bittern, Roseate Spoonbills, Reddish Egrets, "Great White" Heron, American White Pelicans, Redheads, American Avocets, etc..
After this I tried the Black Point Drive which I had heard alot about in researching the trip. It's $5 to go on this self-guided drive and it's apparently the best area of the refuge for wildlife. I'd save your $5 if I were you, it was a major disappointment. I saw a max of 200 duck and maybe 100 waders on the whole 7 mile long drive, pretty useless in fairness. The free Gator ponds and Peacocks Pocket road were better by several magnitudes.
Easily picked up at least two Florida Scrub Jays on the Scrub Trail later with one particular bird sitting up on the top of scrub on the lookout while the rest of the family feed unseen in the undergrowth.
Biolab Road was deadly quiet while the lagoons out to Playalinda Beach proved to be also very quiet. Not a huge amount of the beach itself. Did have a huge flock of scoter way off in the distance but they never came in close enough. Two scoters did do a close fly-by but these turned out to be Surf Scoters.
Most of the shots below are from the Peacocks Pocket and Gator Road.