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June 2012

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Subject:
From:
Bob Powell <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Bob Powell <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:17:21 -0400
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Larry Gara and I, previously frustrated by bad weather, managed to confirm
the presence of Eurasian Collared Doves in Port William, Ohio, just short
of the Greene county line.  The location given by John was accurate.
 Across Main Street from the church is an area of small residences with
tall shade trees, crisscrossed by little lanes.  We first heard the birds
singing their distinctive "decaocto" song, a three syllable phrase repeated
six times.  We also saw two birds gravelling in one of the lanes.  We
clearly saw the lighter color (plenty of Mourning Doves around for
comparison), the prominent black mark on the neck, and the squared-off
tail.  These birds were scared off by a cat before we could think about
getting a picture.  We figure that there were at least five birds around.

I must confess that I view the spread of these birds to Ohio with a
jaundiced eye.  They are very aggressive and are believed to have had
negative impacts on other birds in Europe.  When I first went to Europe in
1962, I found them on the continent but not in Britain.  In 1977, when we
moved to London, Eurasian Collared Doves were everywhere and were believed
by many to be the most abundant columbid in the country.  They were widely
blamed for decreasing numbers of Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, and Turtle
Doves.

In South Florida, Eurasian Collared Doves were said to be the result of the
release of a number of cage birds in the Bahamas in the 80s.  By the time I
started working in the Everglades in 1995, they were everywhere.  South
Florida is dove heaven.  It is not unusual to see five species of dove in a
day.  As yet, there does not seem to be evidence of decreases in the
populations of other doves.  This may be because there are no other
streptopelia doves in the area, implying that it may occupy a niche between
White-crowned Pigeon and Mourning Dove.  Nevertheless, Eurasian Collared
Dove is a notoriously successful invasive species and its advent, given our
experience with other invasive species, can hardly be reckoned to be a good
thing.

Cheers,

Bob


--
Robert D Powell
Congress Farm Research Institute
Wilmington, OH, USA
[log in to unmask]
http://rdp1710.wordpress.com

Nulla dies sine aves

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