Comments on: Birds On Ice: Dovekie http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2012/12/13/birds-on-ice-dovekie/ A Bird Blog with Kate St. John Sun, 19 May 2013 21:27:55 +0000 hourly 1 By: kc http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2012/12/13/birds-on-ice-dovekie/comment-page-1/#comment-21203 kc Fri, 28 Dec 2012 17:33:06 +0000 http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/?p=60172#comment-21203 Kate – My friends found a dovekie about 2 miles inland in a farm field yesterday (12/27) after the storm passed by. The winds had been horrendously strong overnight. An ornithologist friend of mine was able to determine that though the bird did have a leg injury, the injury appeared to be an old one that the bird had been coping with for some time. So, they released the bird into an estuary close to the ocean and it paddled away. I did not get to see or handle the bird as I was working, but my ornithologist friend (who has been a serious birder for probably 2 decades and never seen a dovekie) said that the feathers were so dense that they felt more like fur. He also remarked that the bird fit neatly into the palm of his hand.

]]> By: Claire Staples http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2012/12/13/birds-on-ice-dovekie/comment-page-1/#comment-20826 Claire Staples Fri, 14 Dec 2012 02:41:12 +0000 http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/?p=60172#comment-20826 I grew up in northern Maine, 200 miles from the ocean, and we occasionally had them blown in during storms. One of my favorite family photos, dated May, 1964, is a picture of my brother holding a Dovekie in his hands. Unfortunately they do not often make it unless someone takes it to open water.

]]> By: Kate St. John http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2012/12/13/birds-on-ice-dovekie/comment-page-1/#comment-20821 Kate St. John Thu, 13 Dec 2012 21:28:46 +0000 http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/?p=60172#comment-20821 No need to apologize. They are VERY cute.

]]> By: kc http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2012/12/13/birds-on-ice-dovekie/comment-page-1/#comment-20820 kc Thu, 13 Dec 2012 21:15:26 +0000 http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/?p=60172#comment-20820 Sorry. I love dovekies. Here’s my favorite photo of one.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nigelblake/2370111540/

]]> By: kc http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2012/12/13/birds-on-ice-dovekie/comment-page-1/#comment-20813 kc Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:16:09 +0000 http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/?p=60172#comment-20813 I saw a dovekie up close from the shore last year and was able to observe it for at least an hour. I feel so lucky for the experience. It was definitely one of many favorite birding moments ever. I saw it at the Belmar Inlet in NJ. One of the best parts is that a non-birder tipped me off. He walked up to me because he saw that I had binoculars and said that he saw a penguin-like bird on shore and that it was so small he swore it had to be a chick. He was excited and wasn’t even a birder. I was intrigued. Could it be a dovekie? I put some extra effort into relocating the bird and sure enough I hit the jackpot. I found it, a dovekie, no question about it. It was extremely close to shore, diving and paddling. At one point it even climbed up onto a rock a few yards away only to be spooked back into the water by a flyover gull. And the best part is that it did not appear to be injured.

I read two things about the white above the eye which was definitely apparent. One is that the nictitating membrane is covered with white feathers. The other is that the arc above the eye is composed of white feathers. Here are the links.

http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora//Auk/v050n01/p0105-p0105.pdf

http://www.wildmagazine.com/facts/Dovekie.asp?page=/facts/Dovekie.asp

]]> By: John P. English http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2012/12/13/birds-on-ice-dovekie/comment-page-1/#comment-20812 John P. English Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:15:39 +0000 http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/?p=60172#comment-20812 Well, I was close with auk :-) I’ve never heard of a dovekie. Very cool!

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