Stock Dove added to list of identified birds

The stock dove has become the 39th bird species positively identified at Bracken House since we began recording early in 2010. Easily mistaken for other types of pigeon, a pair of stock doves were noted feeding on the ground today (July 11th 2014).

Stock Dove (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is quite likely that the bird has been a regular visitor to Bracken House, but has been overlooked due to its similarity to other birds in the pigeon family.

Stock doves are widely distributed in the UK, except for parts of northern Scotland and Ireland, with particularly high densities in the Midlands and South West. Over half their European population is found in the UK.

The pair seen regularly here are very tame and allow you to get very close to them. When we first saw them, we thought they were baby woodpigeons that hadn’t got their adult markings yet. They feed mainly on the ground in the wildflower meadows, where there is an abundance of seeds.

The stock dove is often found feeding on seeds in fields where hay has been cut. Recently, I have cut the overgrown grass in the wildflower meadows and this has attracted the stock doves, as well as many other birds who forage in this type of environment.

With a lot of work still needed on the wildflower meadows at Bracken House, the stock doves will have plenty of food in the coming weeks.

Related articles

• Our Aviary (highroadpost.com)
• Birds of the Bible – Dove and Pigeon Distribution (leesbird.com)
• Rock Doves (charleymckelvy.wordpress.com)
• Spotted Dove (sillyreflections.wordpress.com)
• Differences Between a Dove and a Pigeon (feedproxy.google.com)