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01/16/2004 09:00:03 AM · #1 |
When i woke up this morning, as usual i got the dogs out and gone at my front door chech the weather when i found this:
I called the wildlife dept. in my hometown. They said there's nothing to do, he will probably die but they don't care. Here lastly we had some of the coldest day in the region within the last 5 years, iI allow my dogs out just a few minutes at a time and i can't imagine being out there naked for days and dying. It's so horrible.
Message edited by author 2004-01-16 09:00:46.
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01/16/2004 09:14:14 AM · #2 |
Sad, maybe. Looks like a Mourning Dove to me. Them is good hunten and eaten. Must be a little old. They usually head south at the first tiny cold snap.
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01/16/2004 09:19:47 AM · #3 |
| Whichever way you look at it - a creature freezing to death has go to be sad hasn't it? If it can't survive then maybe the kindest thing to do is to put it out of its misery. |
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01/16/2004 09:21:29 AM · #4 |
Maybe you could out out a small box of some sort to shelter it from the cold.. maybe if the cold is the problem you can help out in some way :)
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01/16/2004 09:30:50 AM · #5 |
We have pigeons all winter long, even if it is more as -15 C. May be they are different sort, but you can feed him and may be is cold no problems for them. Feeding is for birds in wintertime when everywhere is snow hardest problem and then they cam more near to people.
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01/16/2004 09:40:44 AM · #6 |
You can put a box out for him with some shredded newspapers or papertowels. Do you have a more sheltered place you could set it so it's not bothered so much. I know how hard it is to just let nature take it's course having tried to save many a baby bird myself but I see no reason you can't help at least make it a little more comfortable.
Will he allow you near him? Is he to cold to move, is he still there?
Deannda
Please let me know
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01/16/2004 10:15:23 AM · #7 |
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01/16/2004 10:22:38 AM · #8 |
| Bring him into the porch or the garage. I had a squirrel stay in my extra bedroom last winter. Did you try calling your local humane society or extension office? Is he hurt or just cold? At least do as Deannda said and take out something for him to nestle into. |
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01/16/2004 10:27:47 AM · #9 |
| Make sure he has water. Because of the cold temps it is more important than food. |
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01/16/2004 10:32:19 AM · #10 |
We have a bird lady here in our parts. She will take in all sorts of birds. I wonder if you asked around if there is somelike that where you live.
Maybe put a heating pad in a box with some towels and set it by the mailbox. He might feel the warmth and go in it, but make sure it is high enough so cats don't get him.
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01/16/2004 10:32:36 AM · #11 |
He looks like a healthy mourning dove to me. He's just a smart one getting some heat off the bricks. I've seen them here in Colorado at
-35 degrees, so unless its injured, it will survive with no problem. It has down feathers under the oiled outter feathers. They do eat seed, so it will come to a bird feeder. Cracked corn, chicken feed or just store bird seed (millet, sunflowers, etc...) Van |
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01/16/2004 10:40:39 AM · #12 |
Here's an update. The pigeon's gone. He did not fall of my mail box. he did not die on it he's just gone. I sure hope he will survive. the weather was not easy up here last few days (never got warmer than -24c with wind up to 25m/ph. always around -40c with the wind) but now it starting to change. the temperature is now raising up to -15.
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01/16/2004 10:45:18 AM · #13 |
That's a sad story for sure, but you have to realize that it`s part of evolution.
The Mourning Dove originally was a bird species that used to inhabit the southwestern part of North America and has been expanding its distribution range over the past decades. Some researchers think that this is in part due to the Mourning Dove taking over trhe niche left open by the disapearance of the Passenger Pigeon and most probably by the increasing habit of people feeding birds at backyard feeders all year long.
I studied the roosting behaviour of these beautiful little birds for my undergrad thesis in biology. I measured arrival and departure times of Mourning Doves to and from their roosts and tried to determine if there were correlations between these times and environmental factors such as cold, cloud cover, wind speed and sunrise and sunset times.
The most interesting result we found was that the doves returned to their roost later at night when it was colder. We inferred from this data that doves may have been staying at feeders longer on colder days to maximize their food intake to be able to better survice colder nights. Staying longer at feeders would thus translate into later arrival times at the roost.
Since Mourning Doves are originally from warmner climates, they are probably not yet as adapted to the colder climate as other species that have dealt with cold for a longer period. For instance, columbids such as the Mourning Dove tend to sleep with their head facing forward, even in cold weather. Other birds tend to stick their beak under their scapular feathers, thus saving heat and energy. Mourning Doves also have shorter belly feathers than many other northern bird species. These shorter belly feathers don`t cover the bird`s toes completely: another heat and energy sink. Some Doves freeze their feet so bad that they lose their claws and their distal phalanges (the ends of their toes, knuckle by knuckle) until they develop slightly clubbed feet. I actually found one dead bird with some toes missing during my study. But, take heart, I only found one through the whole three month study of over 200 birds.
The best thing you can do to help these birds is offer them feeding stations at home and ensure that the feeders never run out of birdfood, especially during winter.
Hope I didn't bore you too much.
Message edited by author 2004-01-16 10:50:18.
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01/16/2004 10:49:16 AM · #14 |
| Hey Beagle! Are they called a mourning doves because of their call/whistle? |
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01/16/2004 10:50:58 AM · #15 |
Originally posted by Sonifo:
Hey Beagle! Are they called a mourning doves because of their call/whistle? |
That`s right!
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01/16/2004 11:02:29 AM · #16 |
Mourning Doves seldom eat from a feeder. They tend to eat the bits that have fallen to the ground. Again, for any bird, water is MOST important when temps are this cold.
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01/16/2004 02:49:59 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by cshep:
Mourning Doves seldom eat from a feeder. They tend to eat the bits that have fallen to the ground. Again, for any bird, water is MOST important when temps are this cold. |
Still have top put seed out for there some to be on the ground, right? Some on the feeder, some on the ground...
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01/16/2004 06:53:00 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by Beagleboy:
Still have top put seed out for there some to be on the ground, right? Some on the feeder, some on the ground... |
Yes, I just didn't want anyone to think that this bird was going to eat from a feeder. I also wanted to point out that water is more vital than food in such cold weather. I'm sorry if my post was offensive, that wasn't my intention, just an avid bird watcher trying to help.
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