I guess I don't think of this beautiful bird being so abundant in open agricultural habitat, but it certainly is common here in southwestern MN in this habitat. If the wind isn't too strong, you can either hear their cooing, see them perched on a wire of some sort, walking along the gravel roads, or flying swiftly by at just about every stop on BBS routes in this region.
Data from MN BBS routes are interesting in that from 1966-80, the dove population was increasing annually at a 4.8% rate. However, the trend for the years since shows a 1.6% annual decline (long-range trend is -1.1% per year). For Wisconsin the annual long-term trend is +1.1%. On those BBS routes where they have been tallied, the average number of individuals counted per route in MN is about 30, while in WI it is only 20.
With the dove hunting season controversy having shifted from WI to MI, it will be interesting to see when, or if, this issue surfaces in the state of Minnesota.
