{"id":115812,"date":"2023-09-12T03:19:23","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T09:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=115812"},"modified":"2023-09-12T03:19:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T09:19:23","slug":"mourning-dove-in-morning-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/12\/mourning-dove-in-morning-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Mourning Dove In Morning Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA, the first bird I saw through my viewfinder was a male Mourning Dove perched on a boulder, bathed in soft, warm morning light.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Mourning Dove at Farmington Bay WMA \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

There were two doves in the area, but only the male dove was out in the open, perched on top of a large boulder. The temperature was around 54\u00b0F, and I believe the doves were enjoying the warmth of the rising sun.<\/p>\n

Neither of the doves made a sound<\/span><\/a> yesterday while I was focused on photographing the male on the boulder.<\/p>\n

\"MorningMorning Mourning Dove on a boulder \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Male Mourning Doves exhibit a bluish-gray cap that extends down their nape, accompanied by a rosy tint on their face, breast, and neck. In contrast, females feature more of an olive-gray cap and nape, with a brownish hue on their faces, and their breasts lean towards a tanner shade rather than being rosy.<\/p>\n

I was delighted to have this male dove in my viewfinder in the warm morning light. As frequently as I find this species, I don’t have as many images of them in my galleries as I would like to have. I’ve found that they can be quite skittish at times, so when they are cooperative, I try to take advantage of the opportunity to photograph them.<\/p>\n

After I photographed this male, he disappeared behind the boulder. A few seconds later, I could see the pair of doves walking side by side on the ground behind the boulder. I quietly thanked the doves and went to look for more birds at Farmington Bay.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my Mourning Dove photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA, the first bird I saw through my viewfinder was a male Mourning Dove perched on a boulder, bathed in soft, warm morning light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1022,697,1189,26],"tags":[4004,4138,3763,3764,4062,4094,4378,1190,4018,2315,4095,1191],"class_list":["post-115812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-mourning-doves","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-boulder","tag-dove","tag-doves","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-morning","tag-mourning-dove","tag-sky","tag-summer-3","tag-wetlands","tag-zenaida-macroura"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/mourning-dove-male-rock-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-9930.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-u7W","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":115834,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/13\/adult-eurasian-collared-dove\/","url_meta":{"origin":115812,"position":0},"title":"Adult Eurasian Collared-Dove","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, I shared some Mourning Dove photos taken at Farmington Bay WMA. Today, my subject is a Eurasian Collared-Dove also photographed on the same day.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eurasian Collared-Dove in a conifer, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Eurasian-Collared-Dove-adult-conifer-mia-mcpherson-9984.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Eurasian-Collared-Dove-adult-conifer-mia-mcpherson-9984.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Eurasian-Collared-Dove-adult-conifer-mia-mcpherson-9984.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2019","format":false,"excerpt":"When I first moved to Utah in 2009 I saw very few Eurasian Collared-Doves but now I see them in many locations and sometimes in large numbers.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eurasian Collared-Dove in morning light, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/eurasian-collared-dove-irigation-unit-mia-mcpherson-1841.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/eurasian-collared-dove-irigation-unit-mia-mcpherson-1841.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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on lichen covered rocks, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/mourning-doves-wildflowers-lichen-mia-mcpherson-9790.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/mourning-doves-wildflowers-lichen-mia-mcpherson-9790.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/mourning-doves-wildflowers-lichen-mia-mcpherson-9790.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/mourning-doves-wildflowers-lichen-mia-mcpherson-9790.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39541,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/05\/16\/the-subdued-beauty-of-mourning-doves\/","url_meta":{"origin":115812,"position":4},"title":"The Subdued Beauty of Mourning Doves","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The subdued beauty of Mourning Doves is often overlooked especially if there are more colorful birds around but for me their beauty is undeniable.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Mourning Dove about to take flight in Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mourning-dove-lichen-adult-mia-mcpherson-8964.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mourning-dove-lichen-adult-mia-mcpherson-8964.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mourning-dove-lichen-adult-mia-mcpherson-8964.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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