The Bobbies

10.3.12 -
It’s been a month since I blogged, and thankfully the hawk’s reign of terror is over for now. I haven’t seen her for quite a while, and there have been no more killings in my garden.

Sadly, I haven’t seen my beautiful Dalmation Dove since the beginning of the month.
Her mate, Chocolate Brownie, went missing quite a while ago. They were an old
pair for feral pigeons and may have died naturally, but I still hope to see one
or the other turn up again. I first saw them in my garden about three years ago
I think. The top photo shows them having a bath together last May. They were a touching pair, always slightly separate from the rest of the flock. I do feel hat things have changed recently – no Flash, and now no DD and CB either.



Sadly,
I haven’t seen my beautiful Dalmation Dove since the beginning of the month.
Her mate, Chocolate Brownie, went missing quite a while ago. They were an old
pair for feral pigeons and may have died naturally, but I still hope to see one
or the other turn up again. I first saw them in my garden about three years ago
I think. The top photo shows them having a bath together last May. They were a
touching pair, always slightly separate from the rest of the flock. I do feel
that things have changed recently – no Flash, and now no DD and CB either.

Dalmation Dove's name described her so accurately, and Chocolate Brownie was not really chocolate at all, but had a shimmering mauveness to his brown-ness that I have never seen on another pigeon. Below is the last photo I took of DD, in the snow. Even as I took her photo I wondered if it would be the last....

There was another striking pair coming regularly – I called them Inky and Speckles,
not very imaginatively! But before I even got to blogging about them, they had
disappeared too. Not a very good photo, i'm afraid. I had a brilliant photo of them, but can't find it!


There
was another striking pair coming regularly – I called them Inky and Speckles,
not very imaginatively! But before I even got to blogging about them, they had
disappeared too

Another lovely pigeon, I am currently seeing, is the pale and opalescent, Moonshadow

She's in the middle on the roof above and to the right is Charlie, with the white wings, saved from the sparrowhawk.
And I caught and ringed another white dove, named Rosie. Yes, Arosebyanyothername,
she is named for you, as it’s my intention to name a dove after every one of my
blog readers, when I can. Rosie, ringed with a pink ring of course, is an
elusive bird – only turning up a few times since I caught her (in Jose’s hutch,
pinching food!)

Above on the patio, and below in the thick of it with another dove and pigeons

Olly is still doing fine. I think he is a she, but I am still not sure! He will stay he til I know! I saw him give himself a quick bath on the 20th Feb. Possibly the first he’d had since all those baths to get the oil off.

And below, here he is on the roof, drying himself off!

And here he is again, with Moonshadow on his right and below that, one taken today - 10th March 12 - he doesn’t look as dark as he actually is, but see that beady eye, still with the
same expression when he gave me ‘the look’ the night before he escaped!

And just to confirm – I am also still seeing Lesa, Fennie, Bianca2 and Charlie(rescued from the hawk) but no Lola or Shanti and Shelby.
On Tues. 6th March 12 I caught a grey pigeon that was flopping around the garden, suffering from paramyxo. It was nearly the end of the day, so I put him in a box in the conservatory,naming him Bobbie2 (after Bobbie, the poor pigeon I rescued from the sparrowhawk only to get taken by the fox). The next morning, he went in the hospital run for the day.
I came home at lunchtime and was surprised to see Bobbie2 wandering in the garden near Jose’s hutch – how on earth did he get out? I soon realised he hadn’t, it was another pigeon, with virtually the same markings – a twin! So I named him Bobbie3! I don’t think B3 is going to last very long, he seems very old, rather than ill. He spent the rest of the day in the hospital run with Bobbie2, just sitting on a brick. As the afternoon went on, I had the tricky problem of what
to do with three birds I had to protect from the fox. I wasn’t prepared to leave any of them outside. Jose comes inside in the small carrying box which I then put in the dog crate in the conservatory, with the grille removed. I didn’t want to just put her loose in the crate, although she would’ve been fine,because I didn’t want the carry box to get contaminated with any germs the Bobbies might have, though obviously I do clean such items. So, I left her arrangements the same, brought Bobbie2 inside in the bigger carry box, and rigged up a little shack for Bobbie3 of a big plastic box turned on its side, with a blanket draped over most of it, and a lacey thin fabric to make a window to let in air! I could tell that B3 wouldn’t try to escape from this as he was
just too unmotivated and old looking. I’ve rarely had three birds to look after, and never for the night in the conservatory!

Jose, left and Bobbie2, right, in the conservatory for the night

And Bobbie3's little shack!

The Bobbies in the hospital run

Bobbie3, left and Bobbie2, right. B2 sat in the food all the time so I had to give B3 his own dish. B2's is large because he's got paramyxo and can't pick up grain easily. Normally I wouldnt keep another bird with one with paramyxo but I hadn't got anywhere else for B3!

In the morning I found that Bobbie3 HAD come out from behind his curtain and was on the floor – but easily pick-upable! He and Bobbie2 went back out for the day in the hospital run again. I was out all day and when I came back both Bobbies were still ok, so again they went into the conservatory for the night. I must say I think I will be surprised if B3 lasts the night.
Well Bobbie3 is obviously made of strong stuff. He wasn’t dead in the least and though he sat hunched most of the day in the run he is still going, reminding me of EG (who remembers the Elderly Gentleman)?
And for the third night he went into the conservatory. Along with Bobbie2 and Jose,
in the own boxes of course.
10th March ’12 – I attend to the doves as soon as I get up around 7am and still in
my dressing gown. I took Bobbie3 into the garden first, and thought I’d see if
he’d like to be loose and walk among the clustering doves for the morning feed.
I (stupidly) put him on the grass, and he immediately flew up into the air. I
was surprised as I really hadn’t thought that he’d be able to fly. He flew up,
then backwards, or more likely was swept backwards by the wind, and over the
fence – then plummeted like a stone.... down. The river is on the other side of
the fence! I rushed to open the gate to the island, and at first could see
nothing. There is a thin strip of land beyond the fence before the sheer drop
down to the river. It looks wider than it is in the photo – actually it’s about
12 to 18 inches wide, depending on the section.

I walked cautiously along it holding lightly onto the fence – still in dressing gown and my garden clogs – and was relieved to see B3 crouched in the grass and nettles. The next step was to quickly pick him up before he either tried to fly or struggle away, thus falling in the
river, or causing me to! I only had once chance – I put my hand down in a sort
of curve, fingers out and curled round, between him and river, and thankfully
grabbed him. I tucked him in my dressing gown and holding him with one hand and
the fence with the other, backed slowly to the island, my legs covered in
nettle stings. The photo below shows the view from the island across to the
garden, where you can see the dovecote. I took these photos after B3 was safely
settled again in the hospital run.

Then, I fed the demanding doves and pigeons, took Jose out, and put her on her table.
No problems there.
Bobbie2 was still in the house, so I went to get him. I carried his box into the
garden, and opened up the grille. My plan was to do exactly as I had the day
before – reach in, pick him up and put him in the run with B3, but B2 foiled me
by zooming past my fingers and flying off to the roof! Oh well, Bobbie2, be it
on your own head – I don’t think you are well yet but you obviously do! I’d had
him for 5 days, and hope that the rest and good food will be enough to see him
through, as I’m going away Monday to Friday next week. I hadn’t got round to
ringing him so I doubt I will recognise him again. Whew! After all that I went
in to make the morning tea, and treated myself to a shortbread biscuit which I
don’t normally eat in the mornings!
On Monday I’m away and hubbie is holding the fort and looking after the doves. He
will have to cope with Bobbie3 too, but won’t be able to do all the fussing that I do, in and out of the hospital run, having to catch birds etc, so poor B3 will have to live in the crate in the conservatory for the duration, and Jose can just stay in the bigger box when she comes in at night. Hubbie will be able to manage her routine.

To be cont.