Usually I stick to the higher trails, but this time I wanted to check out the small shoreline along the quarry's edge, to see what I could see. It wasn't quite 7:30 a.m. The sun had yet to clear the tree tops, and there was a ghostly fog lingering over the water. Who could resist?
All at once a mourning dove lighted on the ground in front of me,. She was just a few steps away, and I was thrilled by the opportunity to study her up close.
As she walked over the rocks near the water's edge, I saw that she was picking up bits of gravel.
Mourning doves will swallow pebbles like this to help grind their food. The small bits are stored in their gizzards. Doves eat their seeds whole and unshelled. These end up in their gizzard, which is a powerful muscle that helps break up the seeds so that their nutrients can be absorbed. The grit they swallow assists in this process by helping to grind up the food.
When the bits of stone become too small to be useful, the bird either regurgitate them, or passes them through their alimentary canal.
If you would like to know more about mourning doves, check out this other blog post I've written about them: http://foundonthetrail.blogspot.com/2012/07/bird-on-wire.html .
Love the shot of the quarry.....We need to go on another morning hike, now that the leaves are turning. I'm itching to catch fall in all it's colorful glory!
ReplyDeleteColeen, I would love to! It's been such a gloomy fall that I have been afraid we will miss some of the glorious colors we had last year.
DeleteMy schedule is open....Just let me know when you want to go....But better reach me on FB, I'm on it every weekday morning by 6:00am!
ReplyDeleteColeen, I'm getting my calendar now!
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