Invasive vs. native: Eurasian collared dove

Today we discuss one of my favorite invasive species, the Eurasian collared dove.

A few years ago, a dove was cooing from a tree in the front yard, which is always a pleasant springtime sound. However, something wasn’t quite correct. The notes of the coo were different.

Of course, at this point in my life, the only dove cooing heard by these ears was from a mourning dove. This coo was different. It was soft and pleasing, but different.

Was there a sick mourning dove in the neighborhood? The cooing continued, from day to day, but there were always two distinctly different songs.

The truth didn’t reach me for a few weeks. There were two different dove species nesting in my neighborhood. The mourning dove, which was common around the Columbia Basin. The second dove was the Eurasian collared dove, yes from Europe and named for the black band of feathers on the back on the neck. This dove is a non-native species.

My research shows the collared dove was imported into the Bahamas in the 1970s from Europe. Eventually a few, less than 50, escaped and made their way to Florida.

This dove has spread at a tremendous rate, mainly in a northwest direction from Florida to Alaska. It has expanded to most all states.

Either Google the backyard bird count and then look for results or enter this in the address bar: https://bit.ly/2Pxn3Tt. This should be the map room of the Great Backyard Bird Count. Here you can choose a bird species and then click on a year, from 1999 to 2012 to see the migration of this dove across the United States.

My first questions about the bird were, “Is it good to eat?” and “What is the daily limit?”

The collared dove is about twice the size of a mourning dove and they are good to eat.

From the Washington State Migratory Waterfowl and Upland Game Seasons:

“Eurasian collared doves have recently spread across Washington. Eurasian collared doves are much larger than mourning doves and can be taken year-round with a Washington hunting license.”

There is no daily limit. Hunters after mourning doves are allowed to keep as many collared doves as they want, in addition to the mourning dove daily limit of 15 during the regular season of September through October.

Do the collared doves cause crop damage or problems with the native dove? Don’t know as of this writing. They will fall to my shotgun and appear on my dinner plate, but only during the mourning dove season.

Next week: Another invasive species.