I have the same flock in my yard. They live in and around the huge brush pile
in the far back corner. They are not mourning doves, nor are they rock doves.
My husband looked them up and told me, but I forget just now what they are.
They do have an orange cast to their underwings.

I love the birds. Just think, in about 4 weeks we'll be putting up our
hummingbird feeders awaiting their arrival. Mine usually show up between March
21 and April 1. I mostly have rufous females, but the occasional male comes in.
More scarce are the ruby throated, but I do see those also.

Can't wait.


On Wed, 12 Feb 2003 05:14:54 GMT, "Jay Bird" wrote:

Did anyone hear me thinking about screaming like a 12 year old school girl a
minute ago?

My dog has been really interested in the ground under a big live oak
(multi-trunk, 100+ ft canopy) in my backyard for a couple of weeks. Tonight
I went out to get her back inside so I could go to bed. I walked up to her
where she was sniffing the ground under the tree and told her to get inside.
The next thing I know a very large number of doves were hightailing it off
of the tree branches for someplace more serene. The sound of them ( a
zillion, I counted them) launching from about 5 feet above my head was quite
a surprise. Leaves fell like rain for a few seconds and the flock went
elsewhere.

This is not recommended for people with heart trouble and I can imagine
where the phrase "soiling oneself" came from.

I guess this is better than the exotic coating they put on my car!