Doves are a beloved bird species known for their gentle nature and symbolic meaning of peace. If you enjoy seeing doves take flight or want to know the best times to spot them soaring overhead, you may be wondering – what time do doves start flying each day?
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: doves typically start flying within the first 1-2 hours after sunrise. Their morning flights are often brief, lasting 5-10 minutes. More extensive flying resumes in late afternoon and early evening before roosting for the night.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll take a deeper look at dove flight patterns throughout the day. We’ll cover key factors like weather, season, and dove species that influence when you’re most likely to see doves gracing the skies.
Typical Dove Flight Times Throughout the Day
Early Morning Flight Activity
Doves are most active in the early morning hours right after sunrise. This is when they leave their roosts to search for food and water. You’ll often see flocks of doves flying low over fields, forests, and neighborhoods in the early morning light.
The low angle of the sun creates lovely lighting conditions for observing doves in flight at this time of day.
Mid-Morning Lull
As mid-morning approaches, dove flight activity starts to slow down. The doves have finished their breakfast and are taking a bit of a rest. You’ll still see some doves flying around sporadically, but not with the same intensity as early morning.
This is a good time to refill bird feeders and bird baths if you want to attract doves to your yard.
Midday Siesta
When the midday sun is at its peak, dove activity comes to a lull. The doves are taking a “siesta” to get out of the hottest part of the day. They are roosting in trees or on telephone lines. You won’t see much dove flight action during the hours around noon.
The doves are trying to conserve energy as the temperature climbs.
Late Afternoon Uptick
As the sun goes past its zenith and the temperature starts to cool in late afternoon, doves become active again. They begin making short flights to find food to fuel up for the night ahead. You’ll notice more doves fluttering about in late afternoon compared to midday.
The evening dove flight time is just getting started.
Evening Flights Before Roosting
In the hour or two before dusk, dove flight activity picks up again. The doves are making their final foraging trips of the day to get their last meals. As sunset approaches, the doves start heading back to their nighttime communal roosts.
Flights of doves crisscrossing the dimming sky as they return to their roosts make for a peaceful evening sight.
Weather Conditions That Impact Dove Flight Patterns
Temperature
Temperature plays a significant role in dove flight patterns. Doves prefer moderate temperatures between 55-85°F. When temperatures exceed 90°F, doves will limit flight to stay cool. Conversely, when temperatures drop below 50°F, doves have more difficulty generating lift and sustaining flight.
Prolonged exposure to temperatures below freezing can be deadly for doves.
Wind
Wind speed and direction directly impact dove flight. Doves take advantage of tailwinds that boost flight speed and ease energy expenditure. However, strong headwinds impede forward progress and gusts can blow doves dangerously off course. Sustained high winds ground most dove flight completely.
The exceptions are mating flights in spring when male doves will sometimes battle winds to display for females.
Precipitation
Dove flight is significantly reduced during precipitation. Light rain may not fully deter doves, but they avoid flying in moderate to heavy rain. Wet plumage makes takeoff more difficult and hampers maneuverability.
Doves will always stay grounded in snowfall and avoid flying at the first sign of snowflakes. Accumulated snow and ice pose severe hazards that keep doves roosting safely until conditions improve.
Cloud Cover
Doves generally prefer to fly with ample sunlight. However, they will readily fly under total overcast provided the cloud ceiling is not too low. Extremely low clouds or dense fog can disorient doves and increase chances ofcollision with obstacles.
Some studies have shown mourning doves rely partly on magnetic fields for navigation during migration flights. Heavy cloud cover may disrupt these magnetic signals and influence migratory behavior.
Seasonal Differences in Dove Flight Schedules
Spring
In spring, doves start becoming more active as temperatures warm and daylight hours increase. The early spring is mating and nesting season for doves. Males will begin staking out territories and attracting mates with ritualized courtship flights.
These spectacular aerial displays involve the male rapidly climbing high in the sky and then diving down with wings and tail spread.
Doves are prolific breeders and can raise up to six broods per year. They start scouting for nest sites in early spring and build flimsy platform nests of twigs and stems, usually 10-30 feet above ground in the branches of trees. Doves take turns incubating eggs and caring for the young.
You may see parent doves making frequent flights to and from the nest to feed newly hatched chicks.
Summer
Dove activity reaches its peak in the summer months. The long days allow them to be active from dawn to dusk, spending the warmer part of the day foraging on the ground. Doves fly down to fields, lawns, and roadsides to find seeds and grains.
You’ll see their quick direct flights from trees to feeding areas.
Adult doves continue to nurture fledglings that have left the nest. The young follow parents during feeding flights, learning where to find food. By late summer, you may spot large flocks of doves swarming fields at prime feeding times early morning and late afternoon.
These flocks represent merged family groups.
Doves seek water several times a day, especially on hot summer days. Their small bodies can dehydrate quickly. Watch for their swooping flights down to backyard bird baths or pond edges to drink and bathe.
Fall
Dove activity starts to decline in early fall as temperatures drop and food sources become more limited. Their breeding season winds down, so you’ll see fewer courtship flights and visits to nests. However, they may still raise one or two late broods before winter.
Fall is an important time for doves to build up fat reserves in preparation for winter. They make frequent short flights to hit feeding spots and consume large amounts of seeds and grains. You may see larger pre-migratory flocks congregating.
Some dove species, like the Mourning Dove, are permanent residents that tough out the winter. But others, like the White-winged Dove, migrate south to warmer climates in Mexico and the Caribbean. Their southbound migratory journeys start in late September and continue through November.
Winter
During winter months, doves are not as active and spend more time roosting in protected spots out of the cold. On frigid days, you likely won’t see many doves flying until late morning when temperatures rise above freezing. When not roosting, they make quick flights to feeders and open water sources.
Backyard bird feeders stocked with seeds are important for winter survival. Doves will make repeated short flights to feeders rather than expending energy foraging over wider areas. Platform feeders or scattered seeds on the ground are ideal for these ground-feeding birds.
In very harsh winters, mourning doves may temporarily migrate short distances to find more open water and accessible food. But they can withstand surprisingly low temperatures thanks to their plush down feathers that provide excellent insulation.
By roosting in dense conifers and puffing out their feathers, mourning doves can survive temperatures down to -20F.
Variation Between Dove Species
Mourning Doves
The mourning dove is one of the most widespread and recognizable dove species in North America. They are light gray-brown in color with black spots on the wings and have a long, tapered tail. Mourning doves start flying fairly early in the morning, just before sunrise or as the sun is rising.
Their cooing call starts sounding off around this time as the birds leave their roosts and begin foraging for seeds and grain on the ground.According to Audubon, mourning doves are one of the first bird species to start vocalizing in the morning.
Mourning doves fly fairly low to the ground in quick, darting flights. They can often be seen perched on telephone wires in the early morning. Males will perform flight displays for females that involve flying up steeply, clapping their wings, and then descending in a glide with a loud whistling of air through the wings.
Common Ground Doves
The common ground dove is found across the southern United States and down into Central and South America. This petite dove is only about 9 inches long and has a scaled, sand-colored appearance. Like the mourning dove, common ground doves are an early morning flyer.
They start leaving their night roosts at first light and begin foraging for seeds on scrubby, open ground.According to All About Birds, their soft but distinctive cooing calls start resonating soon after sunrise.
Common ground doves have rapid, irregular flight patterns characterized by quick wingbeats and then short glides. Males will perform swooping display flights up into the air to attract females. In the early morning hours, watch for these little doves darting along the ground or perched on low bushes.
Eurasian Collared Doves
Originally from Europe and Asia, Eurasian collared doves were introduced to the Bahamas and Florida in the 1970s. They have since spread north into Canada and can be found across most of the continental United States.
These chunky, pale gray-buff doves have dark collar patches on the back of their necks. Eurasian collared doves usually begin flying about and cooing right at sunrise or within a half hour after sunrise.According to South Dakota Birds, they are early risers and like mourning doves will be one of the first bird species vocalizing in residential areas in the morning.
Eurasian collared doves have a distinctive rhythmic, three-part coo that sounds like “coo COO coo.” Males perform display flights for females that involve rapid climbing and then gliding down with wings and tail spread.
Watch around your neighborhood in the early morning for these doves doing flybys or perched on rooftops.
White-Winged Doves
White-winged doves live in the southwestern United States south through Mexico and Central America. As their name suggests, these doves have large white wing patches that are very noticeable during flight. White-winged doves are early morning foragers and flyers.
Audubon notes that they are easy to hear thanks to their soft but incessant cooing which starts up before sunrise.
In areas where they occur, white-winged doves will be one of the first birds heard cooing in the morning as they start to leave night roosts. Males perform a high-circling display flight that peaks at around 100 feet over the ground.
Their distinctive whirring wingbeats help identify them during the aerial display. Watch for white-winged doves scouring scrub vegetation for seeds in the early morning light.
Unless we are really early risers, the morning dove quartet is likely up and flying around before most of us humans even start our days! Their soft coos and energetic display flights provide a gentle avian reveille to wake the landscapes they inhabit.
Conclusion
Observing doves take wing can be a peaceful, inspiring experience. By understanding dove flight patterns throughout the day and how factors like weather and seasons impact their schedules, you can time your observation opportunities for the best chance of spotting these graceful birds aloft.
The next time you hear the soft cooing of doves, keep an eye to the skies shortly after sunrise or late afternoon to potentially catch sight of their short flights. With a little patience, you may be rewarded with a beautiful view of doves floating on the breeze – a uplifting reminder of nature’s serenity.
