Eurasian Collared-Dove - Marq Co. 5/30

[theowlranch@aol.com]

Howdy Folks,

While atlasing in central Marquette County this morning, I stumbled upon a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE along County Road 476 about 2-3 miles north of the Greenwood Reservoir (southwest of Ishpeming). It was feeding on the gravel along the roadway & flushed into a tree as I drove past. It did allow for a close and careful look through my scope to eliminate the possibility of a Turtle-dove or a hybrid of the two. I watched it for a few minutes before it flew off. 
This was a really odd location to find this bird as it was in the middle of a mature hardwood forest and not in a more urban or farmed locale. I imagine relocating this bird could prove to be quite difficult as there isn't much to keep it at this spot, and the surrounding area was mostly private lands. I'll take another look for it in the next couple of days. Providing this sighting passes review by the Michigan Bird Records Committee, this will be the 1st county and 2nd UP record.

Other highlights while atlasing this morning included Black-backed Woodpecker, 7 Cape May Warblers, and 1 Bay-breasted Warbler. This seems to be shaping up to be a great year for finding the spruce-budworm specialists on territory. There are still a few White-winged Crossbills around as well.

Good Birding

~Skye Haas
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