the mourning doves here show up in late april to early may and nest across the fence from me in an old pasture and oak brush. they have a couple broods and come to my feeders for cleanup under the feeders and eat lots of grass and weed seeds and do catch a few bugs and insects. as soon as it starts getting cold at night usually early september they migrate away till the following spring.

I have never had them till the last few years but now you can hear them all the time. Have yet to find a nest. No I did not know that that is how they drank water. Learn something new everyday. Thanks Konrad.

Begood...Morning doves are primarily ground feeders. They will come to a feeder by necessity but even then they prefer to feed on the ground, picking up the seed that has been dropped by other birds. I have numerous feeders. Some of the hopper type, some open flat plate type, but I also sprinkle some loose seed on the ground under the feeders for the birds that prefer to feed on the ground. Especially in winter I sprinkle some seed on the snow and find it is the preferred feeding site for doves, cardinals and bluejays.

Doves are nearly exclusively seed eaters, eating some insects when necessary but they much prefer seeds. Although you can occassionally find them nesting in a wooded area near an open meadow, they much prefer to nest in lower brush, especially in fence rows on the edge of fields.

Konrad, here is a trick to finding a nest. Go out early in the morning (pre dawn) and listen for the soft cooing sound of the morning dove. Doves are monogamous, and generally when they are cooing, one bird is on the nest while the other is perched nearby. If you listen you can get a fairly good idea where the nest might be. Later in the day you might try walking in the area where you heard the cooing. They generally nest low in the bushes or even directly on the ground and with their coloration they are very difficult to see on a nest, but they have one habit that will give them away. If you happen to get close to a nest, say within 30 to 50ft the one on the nest will quickly run a short distance away from the nest very quietly, then they will begin cooing rather loudly and limping around in a big circle dragging a wing as if they are wounded. If you approach them while doing that, they will continue the ruse of being wounded until they feel you are a safe distance from the nest, then they will fly off quickly. If you go back to where you first saw them doing that little wounded dance and examine the lower portion of the bushes in that area you may very well find the nest.

Quail will also do that wounded dance routine, and they nest in a slight hollow depression on the ground, generally in rocky soil.

I feed mine on the ground under the other feeders. They seem to eat the millet which the other birds leave and I also throw them extra food.

get a lot of ground feeders here doves and blackbirds and juncos and towhees and lots of others that like the hopper feeders so i set up a seperate feeding area under a tree about 25 foot from the other feeders and buy 50 lb bags of chicken feed from a local farm supply. it varies from store to store and area to area on the mix. mostly cracked corn and wheat and either milo or millet or other available grains they call it chicken scratch here. i fill the hopper feeders and a tray on the ground. and most of the larger birds stay out there away from the tube feeders and the jelly or fruit or necter feeders on a closer tree.
it has increased in price lately as has most everything else but i paid 10$ for 50 lbs bag the other day. less than half what regular bird seed costs.

I am very fortunate,,,I buy my birdseed at the local farm feed mill...

The premium seed with peanuts, black oilseed and boss is $12.95-50lb bg

basic seed- black oilseed, Boss $11.49- 50lb bag

economy seed with black oilseed, boss and 20% cracked corn for $9.95-50lb bag

Pure Niger Thistle seed $14.00 for a 30lb bg

To top that off, last time I called in an order the girl said that one of their workers had hit a pallet of the premium seed with a forklift. She said she had 8 50lb bags that had been torn and lost some seed but she said there was still at least 40lbs in each bag and she could let me have those for 1/2 price.($6.50bg)

I generally use two of each type per month and they told me if I order 5 or more bags at one time they will deliver it free.

I love the doves too. We have tons of them and they will and do hog the feeders. But usually they will allow other smaller birds to dine with them. But when it comes to other doves sometimes there are serious squabbles over real estate. The wing bashing episodes always catch the eye.I never get tired of watching the male courtship ritual, always gets me laughing.

One characteristic of the doves I've always liked is the little cheek puffs. In all the research I've done on the dove there is never mention of the distinguishing cheek tufts. They're so cute .. almost like mutton chops.

Other observations: Their talons are really short and insignificant .. almost more like finger nails. And their tails ... the dovetail is amazing. When stowed it's a long, pointed tail, but who would imagine within that long pointed tail there could be so many feathers. I'd estimate there's at least 15 feathers that fan out to a beautiful wide, white banded display. And amazingly enough they can fly up to 55 mph. Neat birds.

Beegood you're right, the doves can always be counted on to eat up the millet.

lazypup how fortunate you are to get seed at those prices.