Doves are frequent visitors to many backyards across North America. These birds are primarily ground-dwellers that prefer open spaces for foraging and dense cover for safety. Attracting these quiet, graceful birds involves creating an environment that caters to their feeding mechanics, unique drinking style, and nesting preferences. Providing specialized resources transforms your yard into an inviting habitat.
Setting Up Ground-Level Food Sources
Doves are adapted to forage exclusively on the ground, as seeds make up almost all of their diet. They do not perch well on small, hanging feeders. Presenting food on a wide platform feeder placed close to the ground or scattering seeds directly on a clear patch of dirt is most effective, mimicking their natural feeding behavior.
Offer seeds they readily consume, such as white and red proso millet, cracked corn, and black-oil sunflower seeds. Doves swallow seeds whole, storing them in their crop before flying to a safe perch to digest the meal. Scatter the food on bare soil or a short-cropped lawn, as they avoid feeding in areas with heavy ground litter or dense vegetation that could conceal predators. Maintain cleanliness by sweeping and refreshing the feeding area daily to prevent the buildup of mold or bacteria.
Ensuring Accessible Water and Minerals
Providing a reliable water source is a powerful attractant. Unlike most bird species that scoop water and lift their heads to swallow, doves drink by suction, keeping their bill submerged to draw water continuously. This unique drinking style means they prefer wide, open water sources with shallow edges.
A bird bath with a gradual slope, or one placed at ground level, is ideal. The water depth should not exceed two to three inches at the center, with very shallow areas around the perimeter for easy access. Doves also require insoluble grit, such as tiny stones or coarse sand, which they ingest to help their gizzard grind the unhulled seeds. Offer a small dish of coarse sand or commercial bird grit near the feeding area, as this mineral intake is necessary for proper digestion.
Providing Safe Habitat and Nesting Cover
Doves require dense, secure cover for roosting and nesting. While they often feed in the open, they need immediate access to shrubbery or trees to quickly escape from predators. Planting or maintaining dense evergreen shrubs or trees with low, horizontal branches provides a secure place to rest.
Doves construct a flimsy, flat platform of twigs and grasses, often reusing sites or building on abandoned nests. They commonly place these simple structures:
- In the crooks of tree branches.
- On dense shrubs.
- On eaves.
- On window ledges.
To offer a dedicated nesting spot, utilize a specialized nesting cone or a small, open nesting shelf mounted in a sheltered location, such as under a porch roof. Ensure feeding areas are not directly adjacent to dense, low cover where mammalian predators may hide and ambush foraging birds.