Monday, February 27, 2012

Dove sanctuary


I seem to have unwittingly created a dove sanctuary. Everywhere I look, there's a dove in our garden.


What started as feeding two breeding doves whose eggs kept being stolen by currawongs, has turned into my own flock.


On our teeny tiny patch of grass this morning, I counted 12 breakfasting - three quarters of them babies.


Some sit in our tree afterward, others just loll about on the grass.


They don't bother the native birds, even the two willie wagtails who seem to spend most of the day in the same tree don't tell them off - and they're birds who like to give everything a telling off with their telltale shaking-maracca sound, which means they're annoyed.


One landed in front of The Cat, who was sitting around doing nothing, a couple of weeks ago and gave her a beakful. The Cat looked at the bird with a "what-the-hell" expression but didn't move towards it. So the willie wagtail walked straight up to The Cat's face and let loose again. Luckily for the wagtail, The Cat was a mild beast.


While I'm not encouraging any more doves into the garden, I have to admit that I find the cooing, their weird dovey dancing and the proximity of their general animalness comforting. When a pet dies, the house feels quiet. Thanks to the menagerie of birds in the garden, though, I'm assured of at least one, if not 12, pairs of beady eyes that register my presence whenever I walk outside.





1 comment:

  1. What a lovely haven for your birdy friends you've enabled.

    You gave me a giggle with your description of the WW - they really are the 'bossy's' of the garden bird variety.

    We have lots of bird pairs that have adopted our home:
    Mr & Mrs Bossy - the rainbow lorikeets who land on our verandah railings around breakfast time and let us know in no uncertain terms that it's time for brekky

    Ernie & Bert - the crested pigeons who have gifted me with several of their iridescent feathers

    Mr & Mrs Keating - plovers who have a dreadful track record for raising their chicks to maturity

    Simon & Garfunkel - kookaburras who really do belt out a good melody

    These are the main players but there are plenty more who grace our eaves, garden and skies.

    Captain V is particularly enamoured with the red tailed black cockatoos who fly in formation over our home with their dinosaur cries and stop him in his tracks everytime.

    Happy day Lovely, I hope the week is unfolding beautifully.

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