Nesting ecology of mourning doves in Knox and Loudon Counties, Tennessee

The nesting ecology of mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) was investigated on a rural area in Loudon County and an urban area in Knox County, Tennessee, from 1 February to 31 October 1979 and 1980. Data were collected on nesting chronology, proportion of annual recruitment occurring after 1 September, nesting success, annual production, and nest site selection. On the rural area, the earliest nests were initiated on 6 April 1979 and 1 April 1980, while on the urban area, the earliest nests were initiated on 26 February 1979 and 20 February 1980. On the rural area, a major peak in nest initiations occurred in April and a minor peak in June during 1979, while during 1980, a small peak occurred in April, followed by a larger peak in August. On the urban area, peak periods of nest initiation occurred in March, May, and August during 1979, while during 1980, peak periods of nest initiation occurred in March and June. The latest nests on the rural area were begun on 3 August 1979 and 2 September 1980. The latest nests on the urban area were started on 8 September 1979 and 31 August 1980. On the rural area, the last young fledged on 27 August 1979 and 30 September 1980. On the urban area, the last young fledged on 6 October 1979 and 26 September 1980. The proportion of annual recruitment occurring after 1 September varied widely between years on the same area. On the rural area, no young were produced after 1 September 1979, while 7 (35.0%) young were produced after 1 September 1980. On the urban area, 2 (6.0%) and 10 (10.2%) young were produced after 1 September 1979 and 1 September 1980, respectively. On the rural area, 38.9% of the nests in 1979 and 61.1% of the nests in 1980 were successful in fledging at least 1 young. On the urban area, nest success was 85.7% in 1979 and 70.1% in 1980. Production on the rural area was 0.7 young per nest attempt in 1979 and 1.1 young per nest attempt in 1980. On the urban area, production was 1.6 young per nest attempt in 1979 and 1.3 young per nest attempt in 1980. On the rural area, doves made 3.0 nest attempts per pair in 1979 and 3.6 nest attempts per pair in 1980, while on the urban area, doves initiated 3.5 nests per pair in 1979 and 4.8 nests per pair in 1980. On the rural area, 2.2 young per pair were produced in 1979 and 4.0 young per pair in 1980, while on the urban area, there was a production of 5.5 young per pair in 1979 and 6.1 young per pair in 1980. On the rural area, most (72.2%) nests were located in wooded fencerows, while on the urban area, most (94.9%) nests were in ornamental landscape plantings.