Fortunately my hunch was correct and a group of birders were able to re-find the doves in the same area the next morning and confirm their identification as Eurasian Collared-Doves. Since the initial sighting, the doves have been seen frequently in the same general area. I originally spotted them in flight behind #528 Ferguson Avenue North, Hamilton. In recent days they have been seen in that general area as well as from nearby Wood Street. I obviously did not take any photos of the birds on Tuesday but Bob Curry has allowed me to post some of his photos that he took on Wednesday.
Eurasian Collared Dove - Ferguson Ave N, City of Hamilton, ON (photo taken by Bob Curry) |
Eurasian Collared-Dove is a relatively recent arrival in North America, having first becoming established in Florida in the 1980s. The species expanded northward and westward in the decades since, and now can be found in much of central and western North America; there are even resident populations in southern Alaska already. Their expansion into the northeastern states and southeastern Canada has been much slower, however. Ontario accepted its first record in 1993, while the province had a total of 36 OBRC-accepted records as of the end of 2017. In recent years there has been much speculation that the species would imminently become a regular part of our avifauna but it just has not happened yet. But with 19 of Ontario's 36 accepted records occurring in the last four years, perhaps this is changing.
This is the fourth record for the Hamilton Study Area, and second record for the City of Hamilton proper as far as I can discern. Previous records for the HSA include one seen in Burlington, Halton by John Keenleyside on June 24, 1998, a long-staying bird found by Stu Mackenzie at Vinemount, Hamilton from July 17 to September 1, 2007 and one found by George Naylor and Rhondda James at Caledonia, Haldimand on September 3, 2017. It will be interesting to follow the progress of these two birds to see if they will stick around and attempt to nest.
Eurasian Collared Dove (left) with Mourning Dove - Ferguson Ave N, City of Hamilton, ON (photo taken by Bob Curry) |
Good luck to those that seek out these birds!
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