White-winged Dove Ludington 9/28/16

  Note: This bird is at a private residence .

  

   A couple of days ago I was made aware of a White-winged Dove less than 2 miles from my house. The bird has been seen by the homeowner each day since Monday but only for a few minutes each time.  Today I called him and he allowed me to come over and try to photograph the bird.  I arrived at his house around 10 AM and the bird hadn't been seen since 8:30 AM.  As the host was leaving to run some errands I told that I would stay about an hour.

  Right at 11 AM the White-winged Dove showed up in the lower branches of a large maple tree about 20 feet from the deck.  Of course the bird posed with its perch obstructing the prominent diagnostic white leading wing edge.

  After a few minutes the bird flew to a higher vantage point which exposed the white on the wings however the bright background sky made for some drab photos.

   Twenty minutes later it flew down to a lower branch with provided both an unobstructed view and a better background.

  This sighting represents a first for the Mason County list, which is up to 308 species.