I thought mourning doves were always ground feeders... The ones around here are on the ground all the time, and I have to rescue them from our cats!
Well, they are supposed to be. My big, fat fellows get on the bird feeder every so often. I try to keep seed on the ground so they don't have to do that. :)
These birds aren't just feeding off the ground, they are nestled up in that bamboo patch. It's a smallish garden of bamboo and one huge pine tree, with ivy ground cover. There is a feeder at the beginning of that walkway and area.
I hope they've come to live in there. Do you know if Mourning Doves NEST on the ground?