UOS Quick chase - Ground-Dove - NOT

["Steve Carr" <stevecarr9 at msn dot com>]

At least -- Not Yet.  The reason this is being sent out on BirdTalk 
instead of BirdNet is that the Ground-Dove reported yesterday by Aaron 
Smith in Morgan City has not been seen since.  And he has been all 
morning at the spot where he observed it yesterday.

It is undoubtedly a Ground-Dove, the field marks suggest a female Ruddy 
rather than a Common.  Ground-Doves are very uncommon in Utah, 
especially northern Utah.  In fact, there is only one record of Ruddy 
Ground-Dove, and that was around St. George.

If this bird is naturally occurring and not a cage-escapee, it is very 
confused and way out of range, and so could come and go like a wisp of 
smoke.  If it's a cage bird it probably wouldn't be as skittish as Aaron 
reported.

Two summers ago I had a Summer Tanager in my yard that I observed for 5 
minutes.  When it took off, I couldn't see where it went, and no other 
birder in SL County or anywhere else ever noticed or commented on it.  
So, there is no telling how many supposedly rare birds are flitting 
around the landscape that few qualified observers ever see.  Hopefully 
this bird will yet be seen again so we can get a better fix on it.

Steve Carr
UOS Field Trip Coordinator
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