Yesterday I went to Beavertail to see a White Winged Dove. White Winged Doves are very common in the southwest, Mexico and the south coast of the United States. I tried to find one that was reported when I was in the Keys in 2021 but didn't see it. Up north they are not common. In Rhode Island this was only the forth or fifth ever reported.
After changing a flat tire that I woke up to, I picked up my friend Richard on my way to Jamestown. My friend Louise had seen the bird and waited for us while keeping an eye on it. Unfortunately, as we got out of the car it flew away. We walked around for fifteen minutes scanning the treetops looking for it. After an unsuccessful search we went to the spot it was last seen.
It had come down to an open area with grass seed multiple times in the morning. So we lined up with other birders in the hopes it would get hungry again. We waited about forty five minutes and it flew in. Just as it landed the rain picked up. It had been misting all morning but it went from mist to a steady rain. We all watched the bird for a minute but the rain drove us all to our cars. While I may have watched the bird for a couple of minutes in the rain, my camera does not like getting wet so I respected its wishes.
The White Winged Dove is a lifer but I also got it in Rhode Island so it is a "state bird" also since RI is the only state I keep a separate list in. It is my fourth RI state bird this year and my seventh life bird.
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