(gunshot) at the heart of any hunt is man's age old challengeagainst the wild. here the challenge was a fast,tricky flyer, but this one was something more. he wore a band with a number and that particular numbertold a story. our story begins on a spring morning. the outdoors is full of soundand color and motion.
here is life, wildlife,flashing, calling, vibrant with the pulse of existence. watch, listen. (woodpecker pecking) (birds singing) (bobwhite call) (mourning dove song) >> i am not herejust to watch and listen. in this life symphonyi seek one special note,
the woodwind of a mourning dove. (mourning dove call) but i'm not a musician. i'm a biologist here to assemblefacts instead of notes. right now i'm getting factsabout the nesting season. this fellow's cooing tellsthe females he's available and warns off other males. a count of these cooing suitors indicates the numberof breeding birds.
many people help in this annualcount on a national basis. pooling this information we can sketch the main pictureof dove range and measurethe breeding population. on this particular morningi watched a male perform his courting flight, powerfulfull stroke wing beats take him high over an opening. then he breaks intoa long spiral glide, a simple flight, infinitely graceful.
the cooing and the courting flightattract a female to the breeding territoryhe has selected. as part of getting acquainted the pair spends considerabletime loafing together. a nearby malethat does not have a mate tries to win the attentionof this hen. a ritual aerial battleflashes across the sky. the pursuer strikesthe other male in midair. although this aerial conflictdidn't look very severe to me
it seemed to settle the argument. his rival driven off, the originalsuitor intensifies his courting. she responds by flutteringher wings, head tossing, false preening and billingare all part of the display. ever wonder why the phrase,"billing and cooing"? it ought to be cooing and billingfor most of the cooing comes first. all life follows the same pattern:courtship, birth, development. the next daythe pair started housekeeping. i watched the maleselect construction material,
taking a twig that suits himhe heads for a nearby pine tree where the home is taking shape. after the fashion of doveswhen nest building he lands on the female's back. now this may seem odd,but the pressure of their combined weightforms and compacts the nest. it's the female's jobto fit the twigs in place. carrying one twig at a time,it takes many trips to build the nest, yet thisis only a flimsy platform
compared to many bird structures. no doubt about it,she's the architect and interior decorator,the home builder. he carries the lumber. the birds worked hardat nest building all morning, loafing in the afternoon. but next morningthey were back at work and finished their nest suchas it is in a couple of hours. a few days later,
i saw the male on the nestlooking smugly domestic. it was pretty obvious why, but to verify my suspicionsi checked the nest. sure enough, two eggs. a normal clutch for doves;rarely are there three. the male doesn't fly far. my quick careful examinationhardly disturbs him. he's back almost at once. during incubation eggsare turned frequently
for even warmthand development. the male broods the eggs all day giving his matetime to rest and feed. the female comes in before sundown giving hima chance to feed before dark. unceremoniously the male simplyleaves and she takes over. naturally, she tidies up the nest. though housekeeping is established, the male still proclaims titleto the area by cooing.
he continues courting flights too, further advertisinghis homestead rights. as this day in the lifeof the doves ends, the female takes her turnon the nest. i found many other nests,studying them told me many things. i learned the lengthof the nesting season. i counted the eggs and noted carefullythe places doves like to nest. most nests are easy to observe
because they are usuallyclose to the ground. very few are over 15 feetup in a tree. many are so low that i can seethem without having to climb. but sometimes doves nest high. sometimes they'll even buildon top of another nest. in early spring evergreensare good sites. the heavy growth offers protectionbefore other trees leaf out. but even with good treenesting sites available some doves nest on the ground.
this nest is even more crudethan those built in trees. on the prairieswhich offer few trees, ground nests are more common. it is strange to see a doveworking its way stealthily through the grass like a quail, its neutral grays harmonizingwith the background. another thing about doves, no other game bird nestsso freely around human homes. they nest in front yard shrubberyand in city parks
as well as in farmyardsand all over the countryside. back at the pine tree, life moved on. after 13 days of incubation oneegg was being cracked from within, another thread of existencewas weaving into the pattern. next day i sawthe male cleaning the nest, removing an egg shell. this chick is from the first eggthat was laid. shells are carried away. if dropped on the groundbelow the nest
they might attract predatorsto the fledglings. it is not always easyto tell the sexes apart but in good light the bluesof this male's head and the pinks of his neck plumageare more vivid than his mate's drab graysand browns. the female is getting ready for the task of feedingthe new hatched young. she needs plenty of nutritious food. she also needs lots of water tomanufacture a specialized food
in her crop for the young. in late afternoon, the femaletakes over on the nest. she straightens it up and prepares to givethe youngster its first meal. she stimulates it to feed bygently prodding it with her bill. in feeding the youngster insertsits bill into the parent's mouth. with a pumping action the adultregurgitates a secretions from her crop called pigeon milk which passes intothe open bill of the young.
the next day again on schedulethe second young hatched completing the first clutch. the egg toothon the end the bill helped the baby break out of the shell. with this way of force feeding there's only roomat the pump for two. young doves, called squabs, area bit homely by human standards when two and three days old. amazingly, the malealso produces pigeon milk.
he gives the squabsa late breakfast and cares for them during the daywhile the female feeds them in the everythingbefore she broods them and again in the morningbefore she leaves. by the fifth day quill feathersare replacing natal down. now both parentscan leave for short periods. cleaning the nest of droppingsis part of the job. but just feeding fast growingyoungsters is the big chore, they are always hungry.
the parents not onlyhave to feed the squabs but have to feed themselvesto keep the pigeon milk forming. the young grow fast. when eight and nine days oldthey are half grown and well feathered. unlike adults, the tips of ayoung dove's feathers are white. stormy weatheris rough on nesting doves. an ordinary raindoesn't bother much, most nests havesome overhead protection
and feathers shed moderate rains. but hard, beating rainscan penetrate most foliage, even that of evergreens. winds may blow the flimsy,shallow nests apart or shake branchesso the eggs roll out and break. storms take a heavy tollof eggs and young. after the storm i mademy rounds to check the losses. these two day old chicksdidn't weather the storm and this pairwas blown out of the nest.
down is poor protectionagainst hard rain and chilling. i was somewhat concernedabout my pine tree nest, but not really worried. ten day old chicks in the nesttake rain all right, but one is gone. now what happened to him? here he is. he must have fallen out and died from exposureon the wet, chilly ground.
banding young birdsis another part of my job. from this banding we learn moreabout migration and survival. the minute i banded this birdhe became a very special dove. he was the first dovei banded this spring. band numbers are pretty longso i called this dove by the last three numberson his band: 323 for short. band records are sent tomy conservation department and to the u. s. fishand wildlife service. such cooperation on recordsmakes the story more complete.
young 323 will wear this bandfor the rest of his life. my observations showed whysome nesting wasn't successful. eggs are sometimes found bysquirrels searching for other food. blue jays may rob nests, leavingno trace of their pilfering. sometimes there is onlya mute reminder that some rogue has been at work. yes, you rascal, why don'tyou yell, "thief, thief," like you do when someone elseis the culprit? black snakes, like other wildlife,take food where they find it.
but all such lossesare offset by repeated nesting. meanwhile, the squab i bandedat the pine tree nest, young 323, was twelve days old, almostready to go out on his own. the adults pay less attentionto him now, they have other interests. the femaleis remodeling the nursery. and the male, who had been feedingthe young right after he came in, now pauses to pay courtto the female who flutters her wings in response.
number one sonis getting too big for the nest. the male nearly crowds him out. although he doesn't know it,this is 323's last meal at home. but the parents will stillfeed him for several days after he is out of their house. two days later, the pine treeadults had a new clutch of eggs. small clutchesbut fast production. 323 is still around, though apparently againstthe male's wishes.
soon the male's interestis entirely on the new clutch and 323 is doing well on his own. the second broodgot off to a good start. eleven days after this hatching the male sang his courting songat the nest again. he was getting readyfor a third brood. throughout the spring and summeri followed many nests. some pairs hadas many as five broods, almost assembly line production.
and from blossom timeto fruit harvest they kept bringing off young. i found some nestssheltered in dense growth, but only a few were so well located. on the wholeabout half the nestings failed. average production was fouryoung per pair for the season. in recent years doves haveincreased due to good production and good survival. i banded all the young i could,more bands mean more information;
information we need to managethis resource more intelligently. another part of my jobis to trap doves. in this way i check on bandedyoung after they leave the nest and catch adults for banding. as i continue trappingin following years i'll get a pretty good ideahow long doves live, where they migrate,and how many return. i ran my trap several times a day so no birds would bein the trap too long.
well what do you know? here's young 323from the pine tree nest, my first banded bird of the spring. he's doing just fine. i recorded his number and location thus adding to our knowledgeof this bird then released him. as he flew away i wonderedwhere he was going and if our paths would cross again. wheat harvest isa big event for farmers
and it's a big event for doves too. it comes duringthe height of dove production. harvesting operationsleave grain as food and knock down vegetation sobirds can get at the grain easily. with late summerand the end of breeding season, doves gather in large flocks. these flocks include a surplus, which like the shattered grain,will be lost if not harvested. between nowand next breeding season
there will be a heavy mortalitywhether we hunt doves or not. this study has given me evenmore respect for farm ponds. they are one of the few greatchanges in land use in recent yearsthat have definitely added to wildlife habitatinstead of reducing it. farm pondsare especially attractive to doves who need lots of water. i'm sure the developmentof new ponds in many states has also had much to dowith the increase in doves.
it's not all pure benefit though. this sick dove hasa serious disease: trichomoniasis which can be acquiredfrom contaminated water. dense populations favorthe spread of this disease and should be kept in bounds. one way to control populationsis by hunting. and dove huntingis mighty fine sport too. aware that ponds attract doves, hunters often use these areascome september.
the decoy silhouettes look likea flock of doves drinking and loafing. dove huntinghas special attractions: good weather, simple preparation, and nearby siteswhich promise lots of action. light loads a number sevento eight shot are fine for dove hunting,so is a keen eye. get down. you've got to swingwith these birds and lead 'em, and remember you've gottwo shells in that gun.
now see what you can dowith one of these birds. (gunshots) >> that's more like it, son. a boy makes a good retriever. the water's warm and so isthe boy's pride in his trophy. the boy is learning morethan the art of hunting, he's also learning the pleasureof his father's company. don't shoot at the whole flock,son, choose a single. connecting with a weaving swiftwinged dove is a real triumph.
dad, of course, is a veteran gunner. but doves can fooleven experienced hunters and shared failure brings a moodof relaxed companionship. correct swing and follow-throughare more important in wing shootingthan in other hunting. but a sportsman learnsmany things besides shooting, interesting facts about gamefor instance. this bird weighsfrom four to five ounces. incidentally four doves is goodshooting on this speedy little target.
here's a chance to show the boy how to tell a young birdfrom an adult. tips of the wing covertsare light colored in young birds. doves are fine food, but youcan do a better job of cooking if you know whetheryou have young birds or adults. wing coverts on adultsare uniformly gray. without much troubleyou can tell that -- get down! better hunt now while the birdsare flying and examine them later. mark right.
corn fields are goodfeeding grounds for doves, especially after a mechanicalpicker has broken down the stocks and shelled off some of the grain. doves congregate to feedon waste grain and weed seeds commonin such fields. local birds adoptfavorite feeding grounds and the smart dove hunterwill scout around and try to find such places. my friends howard and jane areout for some afternoon sport
with their black labradorsandy and mellie. hold it, jane. look at that flock of doves. looks like they really struck itrich, but a lot of doves in the air doesn't meana lot of doves in the bag. careful hunters never load theirguns until on the shooting ground. hunters select their standsfar enough apart to be safe and to covera wider shooting area. if clothes blend with surroundings
and you crouch downyou don't need a blind. a few corn stalks are enoughto break up your body outline. the rules are: crouch low,hold still, don't wave that upturnedwhite face around, be ready to shoot fast,and take plenty of shells. mellie has marked this oneand so has jane. mellie knows her job:get out fast, find the bird, bring it back promptly. good work, mellie.
dove hunting requires more skillthan it does muscle. it is a good sport for womento share with their menfolks. a crippled bird is hard to findin a weedy corn field. andy! with doves abundant and game departmentsmaintaining careful controls to ensure plenty of breeding stock, reasonable harvests cannotendanger this superb game bird. and remember, a bird in yourhand is worth two in the field.
disturbed by the shooting, dovesmill about sometimes giving an alert hunter unexpectedopportunities for a shot. what are you waiting for, howard?don't let this one get by. nice shot. i wonder how jane is doing. she's doing all right. i like to see a good shotand a good dog work; a fine combination. there are lots of doves,but bag limits are set
at a conservative level to safe-guard the breeding population. (gunshots) well the best shotcan't hit them all, jane. when doves are using a fieldwith plenty of natural food they are not driven offby moderate shooting. but too much gunningmight drive them out. heavy cover often goeswith abundant food and crippled birdscan run a long way. a man can lose lose a downedbird under such conditions,
but a good dog will find it. andy's wonderful retrieveis a good note on which to end this hunt. reports, records,analysis of data; this office workis also part of my job. banding begins to pay off as hunters and biologistsin other states send in reports. and here is wordfrom an old friend. a report of 323trapped in texas this time.
he's really a long way from home; from his banding site he flew800 miles to this recapture point. a southward migrationis also shown by records from other birds i have banded. similar studiesin all parts of the range add to our knowledgeof mourning dove migration. they form the basis for dividing our countryinto three management regions. in each regionhunting regulations are set
according to dovepopulation trends. but all dovesdon't migrate to southern areas. some spend the winter in sectionswhere the weather is severe. these birds face the winterhazards of ice and snow. doves can't scratch throughan icy coating to get food. diseases affect them in winteras well as in summer. severe cold spells especiallyin the south kill many doves then fewer breedersreturn north to produce young. these climatic catastrophes
may cause a nationwide declinein the dove population. but cold weather doesn't hurtbirds accustomed to it if food is plentiful. a healthy dove can livewith snow, but if the bird is sick its feathers lose their abilityto repel moisture. then the bird gets wet andin winter's cold that's fatal. so in snowy weather i kepta close watch on wintering flocks to see how think faired. occasionally there is a dead bird.
this one's awfully light,thin, crop empty. same old story, he couldn't takeit without food. like all wildlife,doves are preyed upon, for instanceby this cooper's hawk. cold and weakness from hungermake doves easier prey. the ones that find enough foodare more likely to avoid predation. seeds and dried fruits are often availableabove the snow. and as long as doves find foodsome will stay this much we know,
but we need more band records to tell us the storyof these wintering birds. the wheel of the seasons turn, the eternal tale of lifeand death began again with the pensive flutingof the mourning dove. once more aerial displayswere part of the courting pattern that has been woventhrough the ages. as the doves reenactedtheir ancient rituals of spring, i studied them againcounting the cooing males,
watching the building of nestsand the rearing of young, adding new observationsto our growing fund of knowledge. so i trapped and banded birdsyoung and adults to follow them throughtheir entire lives. by following the historyof many individual birds we find out the rate of productionand the pattern of migration, facts needed for understandingthis popular game bird. i caught a young birdwith its banded parent. and when i looked at that parent
he was our old friend of the pinetree, the 323 was sharp and clear. this was the last record i hadof 323 until i received his band. but from the study of his lifeand the lives of a thousand others has come the knowledge that formsthe story of the mourning dove.