The longer you visit one birding spot, the less likely it may seem that you will spot a new feathered friend. This can be especially true when that birding spot it your own yard, one you may check many times a day to see who’s visiting your feeders, baths, top perches, dust baths, flower beds, and other features.

My yard has been my top birding hotspot for nearly nine years, and really my only birding hotspot for the past 10 months. My desk is positioned so I can see both my bird bath and my feeding stations right outside as I work, and I often smile at the common guests who stop by – blue jays, common grackles, red-bellied woodpeckers, palm warblers, common ground doves, and more.

In the past few weeks, however, a brand new visitor made a surprise and very welcome appearance, reminding me that bird ranges, preferences, and patterns are always changing.

A New Guest to Enjoy

At first, the new visitor wasn’t too noticeable – it does, after all, share striking similarities to two of its family members (of the Columbidae family) who are frequent guests. The mourning dove was the third-ever species to have visited my yard when we first moved to Florida in 2016, while the common ground dove was bird #35, either later that year or early in 2017.

This bird was notably larger than the common ground dove, which is a miniature, dainty thing. Yet it was even larger than the mourning dove, enough to warrant a second look. On closer inspection, a flash of brightness on the otherwise gently colored bird confirmed a new species, the white-winged dove.

Yard Bird #50

While the new dove wasn’t a new lifer – I’d seen white-winged doves years before in Texas, as well as much more recently several blocks away in my Florida neighborhood – it was a new guest at my feeders. The gentle behavior (so characteristic of the mellowness of doves), soft coloration, and soothing personality made it very welcome guest at a very turbulent time.

As a special milestone, the white-winged dove is also the fiftieth bird to have made a confirmed appearance in my yard. While some are only seasonal guests, such as many of the migrating warblers, others are year-round delights, like the squeaky tufted titmice or the determined and industrious woodpeckers.

In the weeks since the bird’s first sighting, another has appeared, and now I have a pair of white-winged doves. They don’t visit the feeders too often, but instead browse on the ground beneath them for spilled seeds. Fortunately, the common grackles are VERY messy eaters so there is always more than enough sunflower seed and millet for everyone to share.

The new doves are also frequent guests at the bird bath, a slightly deeper basin they seem to enjoy. Granted, the vigorous splashing (again, grackles aren’t the most gracious visitors) often depletes the bath’s volume, but the white-winged doves still enjoy it.

Most importantly, they make me smile, and that’s what backyard birding is all about. The connection to birds, the joy of a new visitor, the reminder that the cycle of seasons and life continues – that is what we all need to remember, no matter how many yard birds you have in your space.