Mourning Dove

The Mourning Dove is a year-round resident of Aldea and all of New Mexico. They are found throughout the US and move into Canada for the summer. I had not seen them in the backyard until recently. They are really skittish, but I was able to get one photographed on the sidewalk as it stuck around for just a few minutes.

Mourning Doves form strong pairs and are monogamous. Males are slightly larger. They lay two white eggs in a flimsy nest composed of pine needles, twigs and grass stems usually in a low bush or tree. Sadly, I have seen Mourning Doves try to build nests on top of sconce-type lighting on houses in Aldea but they fall apart readily and are unsuccessful. 

The wings make an unusual whistling sound upon take-off and landing, a form of sonation. Sonation is sound generated by means other than the throat—in this case, the wings. Hummingbirds also use their wings to make a sound, also sonation. 

Mourning Dove's diet consists mostly of seeds from cultivated or wild plants. They forage mostly entirely on the ground and sometimes in trees, but they avoid tall vegetation. They prefer cracked corn, Sunflower seeds, nuts and Thistle seed. Mourning Doves drink by suction, without the need to lift and tilt their heads. The oldest documented wild Mourning Dove was 19.3 years old. I find that amazing since most birds have a much, much shorter lifespan.

A group of doves is known by many collective nouns: a “bevy”, “core”, “dole”, “dule”, and “flight” of doves. 

Click on photos to enlarge. 

White-winged Dove

The White -winged Dove is a bit more common it seems in Aldea in the summer. Santa Fe is in it’s northern-most summer range. In the winter they move on down a bit further south to the southern parts of New Mexico and Mexico proper where they are found year-round.

This particular dove was seeking the afternoon shade under one of our Honey Locust trees in our Aldea backyard as the temps are reaching 90+ these days in mid-July. Their preferred habitat includes open country with dense thickets of shrubs and low trees as well as in suburban and agricultural areas. Their range is expanding nation-wide and into parts of Canada.

Males and females are similar so I am not sure which sex this visitor was. White-winged doves are sometimes confused with Mourning Doves which are smaller and have long pointed tails. The Mourning Dove also lacks the distinct white wing patches and the white tail tip. This particular bird sat quite still for its close up.

A group of doves is known by many collective nouns: a “bevy”, “core”, “dole”, “dule”, and “flight” of doves. 

Click on photos to enlarge.

 

Lesser Goldfinch Male

The Lesser Goldfinch, also known as the Black-backed or Arkansas Goldfinch, is a small, social, seed-eating songbird. Adult males in breeding plumage are glossy black above, and bright yellow below, with white patches in the wings.

The particular male in the photos below spent a lot of time stripping seeds from the Walker’s Catmint in our Aldea backyard on June 12. This beautiful black and gold bird was an amazing visual contrast with the purple and green of the Catmint. Really made me stop and take notice.

If you are planting varieties of plants that will attract birds, bees, and butterflies, Walker’s Catmint is a good choice to include in your mix. I have also seen House Finches and Pine Siskins eating the dried seeds of Catmint in the winter months. Lesser Goldfinches also love thistle feeders and I have seen them in groups at our thistle feeder in Aldea.

I have occasionally seen Lesser Goldfinches in Aldea in the winter, but mostly in the spring, summer, and fall. They generally move to southern New Mexico and Mexico proper during winter months.

The presence of wild sunflowers, giant ragweed, and bird feeders may attract Lesser Goldfinches to more urban areas. They are also found in jumpers, oaks, and elms, usually near water. These birds often nest semi-colonially with each pair defending only the area near the nest. The lack of territorial singing and other aspects of their behavior make nests difficult to find.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Western Tiger Swallowtail

I know, I know, this is a butterfly, not a bird. But the Western Tiger Swallowtail is such a stunning site when they land close to you and just flutter about flowers in the heat of the day, I had to include in my blog so folks know they are seen in Aldea. They can take your breath away. And this one took mine. I was kind of in an awestruck trance.

This particular butterfly was very large so my conclusion is that it was a female, since they are larger than males. What a stunner! She stayed in the Walker’s Catmint for a good 45 minutes and allowed me to capture some great photos while studying her movements. 

I highly recommend planting catmint, milkweed, penstemon, thistle, or zinnias to attract the Western Tiger Swallowtail and then include some of the host plants close by so they can lay eggs. Cottonwoods, Aspens, Willows, Alder, Maple, Sycamore, and Ash are just some of the host plants that their caterpillars feed on. 

In the summer, it takes about ten to fifteen days for a caterpillar to change into an adult butterfly. This is the most common swallowtail observed in the west.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Western Bluebirds — Fledged May 15

Along with the dramatic Western Tanagers in the yard this week, another drama has been playing out as four Western Bluebirds left the nesting box on May 15. There were five eggs on April 15. So the process of incubation to fledging the box took about one month.

Of the four that flew out, two were considerably smaller. And one was particularly small and not fully developed. The two smaller siblings hung around the yard and survived three hawk visits and getting trapped on our back patio. So they were lucky survivors. The two larger and more developed birds flew off to another yard nearby and have been dutifully fed by the adult parents.

It is now almost a week later and the small guys appear to be making it and are now today for the first time flying about the yard freely. But they are still mostly sleeping, well-hidden, in the trees.

Enjoy the photos. Really touching to observe them safely from inside the house and get these great photos. 

Click on photos to enlarge.

Western Tanager Female

I decided to create a separate post for the female Western Tanager since they do not receive the fanfare that the males do. 

I appreciate the subtle golden and pale olive-greenish tones of the female in relation to the male. I feel as though I could use the color palette of the female as a basis for an abstract painting. It is very sophisticated in my view.

In past years we have seen primarily a sole female in our Aldea yard. This year we still have only one female but with two males. Lucky her!

The Western Tanager is considered a relative to cardinals. The species was first recorded on the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1803-1806.

Click on photos to enlarge.

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Western Tanager Male

May 2016 has been a bonus in terms of observing Western Tanagers in our Aldea backyard. Over the last two years we have not seen much of them at all, but this week a pair plus a stray male have been in the yard for most of every day. I think that the non-melting suet cylinder ( PB&J or Naturally Nuts both work) that Wild Birds Unlimited recommended I hang up in a tree and near water did the trick.

Also, sidebar, I was lucky enough to also guide a group of Aldea Birders for the EBird Global Big Day on May 14 to an area in downtown Santa Fe where we saw a dozen Western Tanagers. So they are around now and will probably leave very soon for more suitable breeding habitat north of New Mexico.

The males are now stunning in full-color breeding plumage. They are much paler in winter when they migrate south to Mexico and further into Costa Rica. The Western tanager breeds farther north than any other member of its mostly tropical family, breeding to nearly 60 degrees north in the Northwest Territories.

Although some Western Tanagers may nest in this part of New Mexico, they need very tall trees and we do not have many here in Aldea, so I am assuming the tanagers that are here now are just passing through to breeding grounds in the northwestern states and on up into Canadian mountain areas.

A group of tanagers is known as “season” of tanagers.

Click to enlarge photos.