My name is David Randle and I live the Sandy Cove area of Innisfil, Ontario. I am not a serious birdwatcher, but I love to feed and watch them. I am not a birding expert and make no pretension to be.
On May 29, May 30, June 3 and on twice on June 6, 2007, I have seen a unknown dove on my residence property on Sandy Cove Drive in Innisfil, about ½ mile east of Cooks Bay (Lake Simcoe) just north of Lockhart Road. I am used to having a number of mourning doves around the property and while I often look at them I do not study them. On May 29th in the mid day time, I saw a dove on my deck which I thought had something caught around its neck. A closer examination revealed that it was a black collar, from one side, round the back of the neck to the other side, but not in the front - almost like a horseshoe. I knew this was something different from the other mourning doves, but I did not know what. I checked in the only birding book I have The ROM Birds of Ontario book, and found no picture of what I had seen, but saw a report of an Eurasian Collared-Dove without a picture. The description was similar to what I had seen. I checked the name on the Internet and found some photographs of this dove, which again were similar to what I had seen. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera at home at that time. I saw the dove again the next day May 30th, but I was still ignorant of the scarcity of this dove. I saw it again I believe on June 3rd. On June 6th, when I had my camera back, I saw the dove again, briefly in a tree on my property and was able to get one photo before it flew away. This was just after 10 a.m. I was quite startled to see it again shortly after noon sitting on top of a hanging feeder pole and I got my camera and took 11 more pictures of it. It did not seem as afraid of me as the normal mourning doves, and allowed me within 10 feet before any sort of alarm was noticeable. It even appeared to be posing for the photos. Eventually it flew onto a nearby tree and sat there for the rest of the afternoon, joined by a mourning dove a little later. Totally it was in the tree for about 3 hours before I noticed it had gone. If it is the same bird I have seen now on four different days, then I believe it is a female, because I have seen what I take to be a male mourning dove attempting to mate with it. I have posted the photos that I took at http://www.scoutscan.net/dgr click on birds and it will be at the top of the page as the most recent notable sighting. They are each large files so they might take a few seconds to download, but they should also be capable of enlargement. The first four pictures do not show the collar very well, but the remainder do. I am not experienced or knowledgeable enough to say what this dove is, but several people have suggested that it is an Eurasian Collared-Dove, while a couple of others seem to think it is a ringed turtle-dove. I have been guided that the rear of the underside is quite important in distinguishing between these doves and if I am fortunate enough to see it again I will see if I can concentrate on the underside and report back and hopefully get a photo that might help positively identify it one way or the other. I have also be advised that it might be an escapee or release and so on June 6th at one point I held my arm and hand outstretched and while it did not seem to be afraid of that, it did not seem to want to use my hand or arm as a perch either. Originally I had thought it to be the same size as a mourning dove, but on June 6th, I felt it was definitely bigger than a mourning dove. It had a light greyish, almost pinkish front, with sandy brown sides and back with browner wing feathers. In the meantime, I would appreciate any guidance that anyone would seek to offer at [EMAIL PROTECTED] I was asked to post this information for the general interest of all. David Randle Innisfil, ON
