Non-native Species

If you know anything about Eurasian Collared-doves as shown above, you may wonder what I find photo worthy about this bird. They are a non­­-native species that has spread across the United States in the last thirty years at an alarming rate.  But what caught my attention was that this was the first time I have actually seen this bird in Salemtowne since moving here over three months ago.  We have been enjoying watching the native Mourning Doves daily at our feeder and were somewhat surprised when a pair of Eurasian Collared-doves swept in and took control of the feeder area.  This reminded me of what took place at our home in Elkton several years ago.  The more Eurasian Collared-doves we saw the fewer native Mourning Doves we saw, until we rarely saw any Mourning Doves.  And here is another interesting example. While birding at Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge yesterday, we saw a group of 22 Eurasian Collared-doves at Pintail Marsh. I’ve usually only seen them in urban areas, so was surprised to see this large number in a rather natural area. The Eurasian Collared-dove, as well as the Eastern Fox Squirrel that I have posted about the last two days, are both non-native species that are spreading rapidly, and in my opinion are crowding out native species.