Sat. 17.5.14 – afternoon –
when SW left the egg to get some food, I swiftly put the steps up in the front
of the cote....yes, now two eggs! And then I felt Fleur and Fern’s crops – both
nicely fed! Good! I removed the steps as I don’t like leaving them there for
Bertie or anything else to climb!
Later - when
SW was on the eggs, Lucky flew up to feed Fleur and Fern, but somehow shortly
SW realised it was Lucky, not Charm and got off the eggs to rout him out. Poor
Lucky.... I did so hope that Charm would allow him to be the daddy of the new
eggs. Technically I think he might be, as I saw him mating with Charm several
times, and didn’t see her with SW! Anyway, Lucky watched his chance and when SW
was truly settled on the nest, he flew up again. Hello Uncle Lucky! ...said
little F and F ‘What have you brought us this time?' Maybe SW thought it was Charm
but Lucky was able to feed fully, and then he perched on the ledge and made a
noise I have never heard another dove make....ever! It was a sort of chirping
‘jug jug’ and to me sounded like the childish taunt ‘ner, ner, na ner ner!’..... then he went off
to the back nestbox and continued to say it for quite a while! You would think
SW would be grateful that he doesn’t have to feed the babies as well as sit on
eggs, but he is very jealous of his rights, probably suspecting that Charm
doesn’t really love him best!
Above, at the left top is Lucky with one of the parents in the middle and the babies peeking out at the top. Below, the squabs with their typical curved too-long-looking beaks
Below, Snow White guards the babies
The only birds left on the roof - Lucky and Snow White, the males in my bond triangle
.Charm of
course stayed on the eggs this evening, but didn’t mind me creeping up to block
in the squabs. I won’t be doing that soon, but getting up early tomorrow anyway
so I might as well.
Sunday 18th May – at
about 11.30 am to midday, I decided as Lucky and Charm had left the garden, and
SW was settled on the eggs it might be a good time to get Fleur and Fern out to
get their other rings on. I thought I could block SW in for a few minutes and he
would be ok with that... well he wasn’t and flew out crossly! So I took the
squabs anyway and put another green ring on Fern so he has two green rings, and
then a green ring on Fleur so she has green and blue rings. It’s so hard to
remember what combos I have used before, and for birds that might still come
back to the garden. I also quickly weighed the babies and they are now roughly
375g for Fern and 287g for Fleur. Both had grain in their crops. SW stayed
huffily on the roof for quite a while, probably partly because hubbie was
digging up the raised bed. I wished I hadn’t done it now, but hope the new eggs
will be ok, It’s very very warm today so hopefully they will..... and Grace and
her sibling Valentine hatched successfully even though it was a cold February
last year and their daddy Sky kept leaving them – when they were eggs.
Fern and
Fleur are 3 weeks old today – happy 3 week birthday my lovely babies! Tonight I
am not going to block them in because I have been getting up very early to
unblock for ages it seems and I need my sleep! I need to do some catching up before
the new babies are hatched and Charm starts leaving them too early!
Monday
19.5.14 – I got up at the blissfully ‘late’ time of 6.15am. A huge flock
awaited me, and my babies were peeking out of the nest-box, as right as rain.
A usual sort
of day today.... Lucky still sneakily trying to feed the babies, but it seems
he might have a love interest too as I saw him with a female several times - here they are at the left, together, on the wire...
In the
afternoon, a couple of times, I saw a pigeon in the corner between the hutch
and the run, on the ground. It moved away when I approached and seemed ok, but
in the early evening when I do my last ‘rounds’ and bring Cloud and Cissie into
the conservatory for an hour or so before they go into their night-boxes, I saw
it was there again. This is not a
good place to spend the night, so I approached gently with the net but it flew
to the house roof which was a much better idea.
Tuesday
20.5.14 - This morning the grey pigeon was there back in the corner again......
After the
early morning feeding frenzy is over, and before SW swaps with Charm on the
eggs, I have been saying hello to Fern and Fleur, my big babies and feeling
their crops. Today it seemed like Fern’s was full and Fleur hadn’t been fed at
all. I eased her out of the cote without disturbing Charm and gave her a top up
and a quick weigh – she was 287g, the same as yesterday. I will have to keep an
eye on her as she is so much smaller than Fern – though still I think a
perfectly acceptable weight. I noticed the babies have started to peck so put a
little pot of grains in with them to give them some practice. I will have to be
careful with this as I don’t want to attract the jackdaws or crows to the cote.
We have huge numbers of jacks and several crows around – also jays. A jay with
an completely injured and useless leg flew down to get some water – I was glad
it had had a drink but don’t think it will be able to survive that long.
The grey
pigeon – who is possibly old and not going to live long – I will call Gray. He
reminds me of the EG of a while back (the EG was a brown one I called the
Elderly Gentleman). When I put the homies out he moved away from the corner,
and I put a bowl of water there in case he comes back to it. There is no point
putting grain as the jackdaws will just eat it. I threw grain on the lawn and
he attempted to eat it, but then I observed him coughing up some sort of
vomit/grain like substance. Poor thing, I will catch him if I can to prevent
him being eaten by the likes of Bertie, and probably put him in the run with
Cissie. Obviously you shouldn’t put a potentially ill bird in with a well one,
but Cissie’s life expectancy is probably not that long anyway.
Above, Gray - and below Gray, right, with Cissie
When I came
home at noon after shopping, Gray was on the lawn with a few pigeons – he
pecked about a bit, seeming to eat something, got into the water bath and had a
drink, struggled out, then waddled to his secret corner. Poor old thing! By the
evening, he had disappeared.....
Wed. 21.5.14
- I didn’t see Gray at all today.......
There is some
interest from ‘outsiders’ in the dovecote. This is probably because (in any
area, not just here) suitable nesting places for pigeons are always at a
premium, so birds desperate to nest will always try to muscle in. When Snow White is on the eggs, Charm blocks
the babies in, and Lucky does the defending. When Charm is on the eggs, SW and
Lucky put their differences aside and work as a team to rout out the intruders.
But by the early evening, one unknown white dove seemed to have been allowed to
perch on the side of the cote – so we will see what happens tomorrow.
Below, 'new' birds on top of the cote
Here's my beautiful and bold Grace on my hand, and below one of the squabs, still with fluffy baby wisps on it's head
Below, the garden from the cottage door
Thursday 22nd –
One of the newbies at the cote appears to be the white dove I ringed last year.
He’s called Bandit and has a red ring on each leg. It’ll be handy that he’s
ringed if the other cote doves allow him and his female to stay. He was named Bandit (name I think chosen by one of the
Purplecooers) as he was constantly pinching food.... maybe it was two years
ago, I will have to look him up!
Snow White or
Charm, whoever wasn’t on the eggs, was guarding Fleur and Fern today – probably
because of the interlopers. Actually F and F probably would be fine, as they
are now about 25 days old and pretty feisty. They could be fledging within 3-5
days if they fledge early. And talking about fledging.... My baby bluetits
fledged today! The first thing I knew about it was when I saw a tiny weeny
little thing on the grass through the conservatory window...and I happened to
have my camera. I went out to investigate and found these sweet little balls of
fluff emerging from their red postbox home and the parents busily flying to and
fro. I took the photos below but then thought the most helpful thing I could do
was to make myself scarce so as not to disturb the fledging process. The
postbox/nestbox is hung up on the back shed behind the conservatory and in a
very quiet place, near the back of the house away from the raucous pigeons and
jackdaws – ideal for fledging babies. The bridge and the island, with woods
beyond are just nearby.
It pelted
with rain and thundered in the early afternoon...I only hope those adorable
little babies were with their parents in a nice sheltered area of the wood
beyond the island.
At the
afternoon feed, I managed to catch Brownie Mo, the little brown pigeon with the
damaged beak and dried blood all down his front. I used my method of throwing a
lot of grain and peanuts together at my feet, and literally grabbed him
(gently).
His lower beak is completely gone so it’s amazing he survived the
shock, the pain and the difficulty in eating – but it must now be well over two
weeks since I first saw him. I gave him a gentle bath in warmish water,
but only because the afternoon had turned sunny, quite hot with a light breeze
– I would not have done this if it had meant releasing him into cold weather. Then
I ringed him with a green ring, and fed him up on peanuts and peas before
releasing him - still a pathetic little scrap!
Now, if he totally recovers – like Big Boy and Pandora who both
had severe beak injuries – I will always know him by his ring. I would’ve like
to have weighed him, but didn’t as he wouldn’t have liked it, and there didn’t
seem much point. He felt rather scrawny, poor little thing. I hope the good
feed, and the relaxing afternoon on the roof – freed from the pressure of
trying to get enough to eat – will outweigh the stress of being caught. He’s a
plucky little bird.
Above, a pigeon is brave enough to alight on my hand, but Grace has seen him and doesnt like it!
Later, Opal comes for his peanuts..... he's a beautiful pale brown shimmery iridescent mauve male
The babies are getting more and more interested in the world outside the cote
Below, the 'newbies' in the side nestbox
Very beautiful and cuddly pair!
Friday
23.5.14 – Brownie Mo didn’t seem too well today. He rested on the porch roof and Dolly kept him company.
It is really difficult to make
sure he gets enough to eat because anything I throw down – even right in front
of him – is gobbled up by pushy pigeons with perfect beaks! The main trouble is
that I am again in the position of having to conserve grain. I spend a fortune
on grain each week – and at this time of year I have to dole it out carefully
and can’t just chuck it on the lawn at random. You can see how many birds there
are.... and that’s not all of them, by any means.
I have my own ‘pecking order’ when trying
to ensure who gets fed – first, the homies, as they can’t feed themselves, then
the cote birds, then any poorly or recovering birds (at the moment, that’s Big
Boy, Brownie Mo and Tufty, the racer with a completely withered foot), then my
previous babies hatched in my cote (Grace, Autumn and Dolly), then any birds
that have endeared themselves to me (like Opal, the brown pigeon who flies to my hand) and other ‘known’ birds (like Mr. Strong and Frances, and Bandit and Charity,.... then
lastly the whole motley crew!
I did try to
catch Brownie Mo again today but was unsuccessful. If I do manage to get him, I think
I might keep him a while to try and get his strength up.
Grace looks in the kitchen window......
until I give in and go outside to give her some peanuts! Grace is around the garden 24/7 and seems to constantly eat!
Below, Snow White says 'I know you have installed those new virulent pink and blue plastic baths, but I'm just an old-fashioned lad who likes to bath in a puddle!'
I took him out some personal peanuts - he is so handsome!
And look at the squabs today - posing for a Persil ad!
Sat 24th May– The day
started extremely wet...why is some rain so much wetter than others? I wondered
why the early flock didn’t come down until I saw a bedraggled Bertie under the
garden table. It was only 6.15am but I bundled him into the car and drove him
straight home. If I’d kept him it would’ve meant drying him off before he came
in the sitting room, feeding him, keeping him away from the birds.....it’s a
nuisance driving him home but less than doing all that. And at that early time
there is no traffic round here on a Saturday. The squabs will be fledging soon,
within a week anyway, so I really don’t want Mr Bertie the bird-catching cat
around!
Brownie Mo
was there looking even more bedraggled than Bertie – my bath to try to remove
the dried blood hadn’t made any difference to the look of him, and neither had
the rain. It is so hard to make sure he gets anything to eat but all I can do
is persevere. And the jackdaws
are a nuisance, swooping down to grab their share at every opportunity.
In the late afternoon, a white dove alighted on the table where a few others were feeding.... and made me gasp in horror! Scroll down the next 10 photos quickly if you don't want to see it's injury....
Badly wounded, but still hungry!
What on earth happened?..... looks suspiciously like a hawk attack......
Charm didn’t
come to do the last change-over this evening until twenty to eight! Goodness
Charm, that’s late!
Sunday
25.5.14 –
The squabs, Fern and Fleur,
are four weeks old today. Here is their Happy 4 Week Birthday photo! Fern is enormous! He seems easily as big as his
parents but I don’t really see them side by side. Since the new eggs were laid
I haven’t been able to have much contact with these babies as Snow White is on
the eggs in the afternoons and he gets upset if I even go up the steps to look
at them. Charm is more reasonable, but I certainly couldn’t take the squabs out
of the cote without causing a disturbance to her. With some previous babies, I
have been able to have a little ‘play’ with them in the afternoons and as you
know really enjoy that but I have had to limit myself to a few quick peeps when
Charm is on the nest. I have been giving the babies a few tiny grains to
experiment with, and they both peck them up easily, being grown-up for their
age! Lucky still feeds them, when he gets the chance, though I don’t think
Charm is doing so now – as it is the father’s job at this stage. So, F and F
are 28 days old, well developed and could fledge at any time within the next
few days.....I pray that it is not a time when Bertie’s around, as newly
fledged doves usually end up on the hedge or the ground rather the roof!
Brownie Mo
was looking much better today –perhaps the rain and the bath had made a
difference after all, and more importantly, he seemed to be able to pick up the
pieces of corn much more easily, sometimes screwing them round with his beak on the ground like we would open a jar. I was out for the afternoon and hubbie was
feeding the flock but he said he didn’t see the badly injured white dove at
all. I hope that it didn’t die as it was coping so marvellously.
Bank Holiday
Monday 26.5.14 – The early morning was terribly wet again , exactly like Friday
– even to the fact of Bertie turning up and having to be driven home. At least
I know when I’ve done this that the garden will be safe from him for a day.
Which was just as well as later on, about 11.30am, I chanced to see out of the
window, something white stuck in the hedge.... one of the babies had fallen off
the ledge of the nestbox!
Now they are due to fledge pretty soon, but I don’t
count that as proper fledging. Charm was fussing about underneath the hedge
like a mother hen, but being no help! My camera was handy so I took the snap
for the blog, then rescued the baby, and it was the smaller of the two, Fleur.
I don’t think she’d been in the dilemma long as she felt quite warm. I could’ve
brought her in to weigh her, which would’ve been interesting, but I didn’t
think of it at the time. And just popped her back in with Fern. So, you ask,
what would’ve happened if I hadn’t rescued
Fleur. Surely she would’ve been alright? Well, the answer is of course
that I don’t know....but it is likely that she would not have been ok. She would’ve struggled in the hedge and either
got more trapped, or released herself and probably fallen to the ground.
Possibly she would’ve been able to fly a little, and get up off the lawn, but
young doves are pretty hopeless for a few days after fledging and I doubt if
she would’ve been able to fly well enough to get back inside the cote – so
therefore she would’ve got wet and chilled, and probably fallen prey to the
next predator that came along. The
babies of course are very inquisitive at this stage so I have to watch out for
them!
Above, Fleur hovering on the ledge..... and below Snow White on top of the cote
The babies respond to Lucky, like they do to both SW and Charm, but these squabs don't know that everyone doesnt have three parents!!!! To them it is the norm!
The babies tend to flap their wings inside and outside of the cote - probably to build up strength
Below, the next three photos are Charm with one of the squabs, probably Fern
I didn't see the badly wounded dove all day and wondered if maybe it belonged to another cote and has gone home, but in the late afternoon, in the steady rain, it arrived again - and again I rushed for peanuts for my brave soldier (and the camera). The wet weather is in it's favour - it will keep the bugs and flies off and may have rinsed the wound.
Below, looks like some faeces on the injury - I hope the rain washes it off quickly!
Before I end the blog - just to remind you about my little feather shop on Groovy Cart - search for the Real Birds Feathers shop (white doves and other natural birds feathers) - Groovycart (sorry I sell to UK only)
To be cont...
