The Spring has sprung....

The Spring has sprung,

The grass is rizz, I wonder where the birdies is?......

I've absolutely no idea where that line of 'poetry' came from but it seemed appropriate for today, Feb. 8th 2008, as it has been so lovely and sunny.

And where my birdies are ..... is on the roof!

Several of you have been kind enough to ask me to update my dove blog. There is not much to say really, but I am pleased to report that John is doing well, out and about on the roof with the others, although no sign of a mate yet. He now wakes up in the dovecote, and when a few others arrive on the tiled roof opposite, he joins them, feeds with them and then flies off with them to wherever they go to.....coming back later in the day.

Francis was on the roof too today,in the afternoon, and I was delighted to see him as it has been a while. He was displaying typical male courting behaviour - bowing and turning round in circles! What a handsome dove he is! Valentine's Day is the traditional day for the birds to pair up - I do so hope that my Francis finds a mate and sets up home in the dovecote, but I fear John won't let them, even though Francis is his son! I don't want John to be excluded of course - I hope he finds a new mate of his own!

Before we went on holiday I saw Francis' brother, Iona, with his mate - they were walking in the gravelled area between our neighbours' cottages, and ambling along, not worried they might be run over at all. They almost seemed to be hand in hand. I pondered on a good name for the female and googled 'Iona'. The first thing that came up was Iona Abbey so I decided to call her Abbey. And Iona Abbey is a beautiful spiritual place that I have been to. so very appropriate.

Pinkie, a visitor with a thick pink ring, is also often here and so is a dove I call Flick as he/she has a funny little upflick of feather at the back of the head. My beautiful visitor Joseph is also here most days. I especially love the doves I can recognise by their physical differences. Today the highest number of doves I saw together on the roof was 38.

We have a constant battle with the jackdaws. They turn up en masse, sometimes 3 or 4, sometimes up to 15, and take over the feeding table. Every time I see them I open the back door and they fly away. The jay also likes to feed off the doves' food, as do the wood pigeons. And there is a cheeky squirrel helping himself whenever he feels like it.

While typing this I looked out of the window at the feeding table as I constantly do, and there was a bird of prey on the hedge! By the time I'd got to my camera, it had gone. I feed the little birds, bluetits etc on the table and off feeders nearby. They wouldn't have a chance if he decided to make them into a meal, poor little things. I looked in my bird book, but couldn't decide what it was.

That's all for now......

(The photo is of Pinkie of course)