From Danny McMillin:
I’ve never seen a Eurasian Collared-Dove until this morning. I spotted a pair while photographing an eagle on Alki Point. I’m curious to know if anyone else has seen these doves in West Seattle; and if so, where and when.
As a bonus, Danny included the eagle (pursued by a crow):
Thank you for the great photos. I love to see the Bald Eagles soar. The crows have to flap their wings for all they are worth to try to keep up.
Get out the bird book somewhereabovealki, those are Eurasian Collared-Doves. The only dove to mistake them for is Ringed Turtle-Dove. I haven’t seen them in West Seattle, but it’s no surprise there here; they have spread west and north like crazy the past few years.
Nice pictures.
I don’t think so, somewhereabovealki. Too light in color, the band configuration is wrong and you can clearly see the collar in the second bird. It’s hard to tell bill color, but bandtails have a notably yellow bill. I’m going with Danny on this one.
Here’s a video of three owls I spotted on a walk through Camp Long last year. It was really bizarre; first of all, there were three, and this is after having never seen a single owl in Seattle in all of my years. Secondly, they let us walk startingly close to them, up to 10′ away. It was all very spooky, yet exhilarating. It felt as though I had entered a portal into the spirit world. So after my long-winded introduction; enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94fYRiDy4wE
Somewhereabovealki,
These doves are not native Band-tailed Pigeons. Here’s a link:
I’m pretty sure they’re Eurasian Collared Doves. I spotted 2 pair of them this morning.
Cheers.
Danny McMillin
One Eurasian Collared Dove. A lost and lone one became a fond friend at Luna Park for a season about three years ago. It was well-fed.
Haven’t seen those… but I did see a bald eagle cruising right down Delridge last week!
I have a feeling some of these people commenting have seen ‘ The Big Year’ if not you need to…..
Owl Videographer — These are barred owls, and unfortunately, they tend to be more aggressive than our local native owls, including Western Screech and Spotted. Many biologists now believe that they are outcompeting (and predating on) our native owls. Barred owls did not live in this region until recently, and their population is increasing here. Here are a few links —
http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/barred_owl?tab=2
http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/western_screech-owl?tab=2
For more information, search “barred owls vs western screech owls, pnw.”
The doves have been in my backyard since last summer, off and on. They usually hang with the pigeons.
Saw an eagle yesterday morning on the south side of Alki Pt. looking for food from the air. It would back pedal with the wings, to stay in one place, look down, then go on for a few more yards. Did this four times before going around the point to the north.
Sorry, comment time is over.
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