FULL INSTRUCTIONS

PREPARE TO CONDUCT DOVE DETECTIVES

1. LEARN TO IDENTIFY SPECIES OF PIGEONS AND DOVES IN YOUR CITY
   
   You should be familiar with the species of doves and pigeons you will find in your city before beginning. To learn more about pigeons and doves, click here.
   
   
2. FIND A STUDY SITE TO CONDUCT DOVE DETECTIVES
   
   Walk around in your neighborhood or in any location where you'd like to do your study. Search for doves and pigeons. Look on the ground as well as on wires or rooftops. Each location where you see pigeons or doves could be a Study Site (note that the location of the birds is the Study Site, not where you are standing). You can have as many Study Sites as you wish, but please be sure to record data separately for each site. You may return to the same site as many times as you like. You only have to record the habitat information the first time you count at each site.
   
   If you return to a site, you can view the birds from any location. For example, one day you notice that there are Mourning Doves sitting on the roof of your house and you decide to use your house as a Study Site. On that first day you stand across the street so that you can see them well. On another day they are on the sidewalk in front of your house and you watch them through a window. Remember that the location of the doves is the site, not where you are positioned to watch them.
   
   
3. COMPLETE A HABITAT FORM
   
   For each Study Site you should fill out a Habitat Form before you count your birds. You can use the same Study Site for PigeonWatch, Crows Count, or Gulls Galore. Only fill out a Habitat Form once even if you use the site for more than one project.
   Click here for habitat definitions and forms.

MATERIALS NEEDED

• a Tally Sheet
• pen or pencil, and clipboard or something similar

Optional

• a bird field guide
• binoculars
  
  

1. FILL IN THE TOP PART OF THE TALLY SHEET
   1. site name or number (needs to match Habitat Form)
   2. date
   3. time that you start observing
   4. species that you are observing
      
      
2. COUNT THE DOVES AND PIGEONS
   Count the birds in your Study Site. Be sure to record data separately for each species.
   Write on the Tally Sheet
   
   1. numbers of birds of each species
   2. locations of each species
   3. behavior(s) of each species
   
   When you have completed your observations, record
   1. weather
   2. other notes
   3. end time and length of time you observed the birds
      
      
3. SUBMIT YOUR DATA
   Mail your Habitat Forms and Tally Sheets to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Send only one Habitat Form per Study Site. You can send multiple Tally Sheets for each Study Site.