I have about 30 or so Eurasian Collared-Doves at my feeders on a regular basis. Over the past few days, more than once they have suddenly flown off and been missing from the yard for several hours at a time. Then, a couple of days ago, I heard a loud thump on the window and found numerous collared-dove feathers in the area of the crash. Until today, I could not spot the predator that was spooking them. At 11:30 this morning, I looked out my bedroom window to see a spectacular adult Northern Goshawk perched at the top of a ponderosa pine. I dashed to get my camera from another room, but when I got back the bird was gone. Currently no sign of the goshawk and no collared-doves either. In the spring of 2013, I also had a goshawk preying on collared-doves in my yard. I was only able to spot that bird a couple of times. So, if you're feeding a lot of Eurasian Collared-Doves, don't despair. You may be attracting something really nifty!
David Waltman
6,000 feet, 1/2 way between Boulder and Lyons
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