I
saw a hawk take down a collared dove today. The dove was searching for
food on the ground beneath the old pear tree in my backyard as I came
down the path and startled him. He flew up and out in the open and at
that moment, while he was just a couple of meters above the the
ground, a hawk swooshed down seemingly out of nowhere and pinned him
to the ground. The dove did not let out a sound and did not seem to
move. There was just a bunch of light grey feathers in the air that
silently settled down. It all happened suddenly and not more than
five meters from where I was standing, frozen. The hawk looked at me
for a few seconds with his piercing yellow eye, then, with some
effort, took off with his pray.
And
that is how the circle of life demonstrated itself before me today.
Nothing unusual there, except that collared doves were not on the
hawk's lunch menu until recently.
 |
| Collared doves foraging for food in my garden (April 2011) |
A
pair of collared doves appeared in my garden for the first time two years
ago. I recognized them right away as they are abundant in Europe
where I grew up. I was surprised since I didn't know they lived in
Canada too, so I did some research. What I found out is that the
species, whose full name is Eurasian collared-dove, was first introduced from Europe into
the Bahamas in the 1970s and spread from there to Florida by the 1980s.
Well adjusted to living near human habitats, from Florida they
rapidly spread throughout North America, which is neatly illustrated
on Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s interactive MAP.
The
pair of collared doves I saw two years ago might as well have been the
first pair that flew in North Vancouver, BC, where I live. This
winter I counted 24 collared doves perching on the branches of a big
mountain ash tree in my backyard (well, there definitely is one less as
of today), so it's safe to say that
they are here to stay, and in increasing numbers. Since they mostly
feed on seeds and grains, such as millet,
sunflower, wheat, and corn (they eat also some berries, as well as
invertebrates), I'm sure that they hang around my place because of
the big grain silos we have in our neighbourhood. They also spend
time around bird feeders, but feed only on the seeds that fall to the
ground. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “studies
on interactions between collared doves and other species have not yet
shown a negative impact on populations of native birds”, which is
somewhat reassuring, since native birds in urban and suburban
settings, where collared doves are settling in, are already negatively
affected by degrading habitat. And the hawk from the beginning of the
story was surely glad to have such big and plump bird for lunch
today, and exotic one too!
 |
| Cooper's hawk resting in the tree in my backyard |
As for me, I don't understand the need for or the reason behind introducing species like house sparrows, starlings or, in this case, collared doves into the "New World". Who would miss a sparrow when they are able to enjoy North America's wonderful diversity of birds? Not me!
What
do you think of the new bird in town?
More info on Eurasian collared-doves:
