A SUMMARY OF MOURNING DOVE CALL COUNT INVESTIGATIONS IN OHIO 
By Harold S. Peters 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlanta, Georgia 
The Branch of Wildlife Research of the Fish and Wildlife Service 
has participated in the Cooperative Mourning Dove Study for nearly 
three years, From the beginning major emphasis has been directed at 
developing and testing various techniques for securing an index to 
dove populations on an annual basis. The object of investigations 
during the summer of 1950 and 1951 was to try to find the most 
economical and most reliable method of securing an index to the breed~ 
ing population, one which could be applied annually to denote signifi- 
cant changes in abundance for regulatory purposes. 
Preliminary investigations in Georgia, Pennsylvmia and New York 
had shown promise of the call count method, so ‘this was tested in de- 
tail in Ohio during 1950, and the study was intensified using standard- 
ized procedures in 1951. The research was conducted in Ohio because it 
was considered representative of an important segment of the northern 
part of the Mourning Dove's breeding range. Data from there would be 
particularly useful for comparison with similar investigations in other 
sections of the country. 
The complete program in Ohio consisted of call counts, road counts, 
study area investigations, trapping and banding, and observations of 
movements and migrations. Only the results of the call-road counts will 
be discussed in this paper. These were conducted from early June until 
mid-August in 1950, and from May 2 until June 23 in 1951. 
1950 Investigations 
Methods.--Census routes were selected from a county road map, when 
possible, of 20 miles, through varied habitat, off main traveled roads 
and away from trains, airports, and similar sources of noise. Nine 
routes were established in Franklin County, Ohio, and four were chosen 
in Ottawa and Cuyahoga Counties, Ohio. 
The routes were started approximately one-half hour before sunrise 
and consisted. of three-minute stations about one mile apart. Routes 
were of 20 stations except one of 15 and another of 11. Records were 
kept of all doves heard to give the complete coo-call, but the number 
of calls from each dove were kept on only about half the routes. The 
doves seen while driving between stations were recorded, as well as 
those seen while at the stations. In each case the birds were tabulated 
as singles, pairs, or flocks; a flock being three or more doves. 
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