Part 4 - Devil Dove!

The photo shows Hope, a week or so ago, one frosty morning, about to eat a pea. The pink mark on her side is food colouring so I can identify her.

Monday 6th April 09

Please read Parts, 1,2 and 3 in the blogs below this one

Hope had stayed away the night of Sat. 4th April and I had again kept the babies in the kitchen overnight and put them back in the nest before she arrived back in the morning. She did come back and fed them several times in the early morning, and again about 11.20 am that I saw.

I didn't see her feed them after this time, and in case she truly did abandon them I went up to the WildLife Aid animal hospital at Leatherhead to get some advice http://www.wildlifeaid.org.uk/ This wonderful place always need donations of money or food for the animals so do help if you can. When I arrived they had two adorable little five-week old fox cubs, and I was able to stroke one. I'd never seen one in the flesh before and was enchanted by them - they seemed like a cross between a puppy and a kitten - doggie shaped, but kitten soft fur and tail. The woman I spoke to was very helpful, but said that the squabs, if truly abandoned, would have to be fed by tube and I wouldnt be able to do it myself, but could hopefully have them back when they could feed themselves. I left reassured that whatever happened they could be reared, and promised to bring back a donation of puppy food for the baby foxes, and nuts for the baby squirrels.

That afternoon about 4pm I happened to be in the garden and as a few doves alighted on the roof, I saw a flutter of pink and green feathers amonst the white ones. The intruder dove was back - all the way from where it was released in London on Friday morning!

I know pigeons - and the doves are just white pigeons - have the homing instinct, but somehow, after the fright of being caught and confined, I hadn't expected it to come back. I can't really describe how I felt; immediately nervous and panicky about what it would do. I realised it was a male as it started displaying courting behaviour to the females on the roof.

A group of doves flew over to the island to feed and he went with them, the colours on his tail marking it out in the sky with the others. I wondered if anyone between here and London had seen it and remarked. Then they all flew back and when he positioned himself right at the end of the bit of roof nearest the dove cote I knew by instinct that he hadn't forgotten and had evil on his mind.

I stood without moving next to the end of the shed, my hands on the stepladder and my heart literally in my mouth. I watched the marked dove watching the dovecote, and I knew Hope wasn't in there. He flew down to the cote and perched on the step of one of the other entrance holes, still looking around - probably for Hope and assessing whether he could get away with it. My hands gripped the stepladder but I didn't move. After only a few seconds, it flew to the nestbox and entered. Carrying the stepladder I literally flew, lightly in bare feet, across the lawn, set it up and ran up the steps, I don't know how, my hand going up, fingers outstretched, to block the hole, so it couldn't fly out and away, to come back when I wasn't there. I could hear the frantic squeaking of the squabs, reached in and grabbed it extremely firmly and ran back into the house, and closed the kitchen door. My heart was thumping so much I could hardly speak, but I faintly managed to say my husband's name and he came out to me. I didn't want to do what happened next, but I felt it was the only way to protect the babies. We had given the marauder a chance by taking it to London, and it had just flown back and seemingly straight to the dovecote to attack the squabs - so it had to go. My husband used to work on a farm, and he has reared pheasants and other birds. He despatched it quickly and I didn't watch. You may think this was wrong, killing a healthy dove, but I had to protect those babies.

I felt weak and shaky for about two hours afterwards and had a gripping pain in my lower abdomen - not from the killing of the marauder but from what might have happened to the vulnerable little squabs.

I didn't see Hope again til 6pm and she didn't feed the babies. I was worried that she maybe had witnessed some of what happened, and wouldn't go back to them this time. I kept looking out as the sun was gone, evening approached and eventually, thank goodness she came back, very late, at 7.30pm and fed them, and stayed with them for the night.

So that's the story up to date at the moment. I would love it all to go peacefully and smoothly now, but I don't count on it. The babies are 18 and 17 days old today and need another 10 days in the nest before they will be able to come out and start learning to fend for themselves.

The end

Part 2 - Intruder in the Nestbox

Sat. 4th April 09

Part 2 - Please read Part 1 in the blog below this one.

Last Thursday the baby doves, the squabs were 14 and 13 days old and all was fine. I was looking forward to taking a photo of them on their 2 week birthday. In the morning I noticed a dove enter the nest box in the dovecote and instinct told me that it was not Hope. I went to the kitchen door and saw that Hope, who was actually already inside, chuck the intruder out! I wondered if it was the same dove who had caused trouble for Hope and Glory a while ago (see Altercation in the Dovecote blog)

Then Hope and the intruder suddenly started fighting on the hedge below the dovecote, whirling and tumbling over and over. I grabbed my camera and took the following photos.

I went nearer the cote and Hope flew up and sat blocking the entrance to her nest, while the other dove went in one of the other dovecote holes.

They kept peeking round at each other and it would have seemed quite cute in different circumstances.

I kept watch and eventually some doves came down to the lawn and Hope went with them and then they all flew away - Hope included. I stayed watching and shortly afterwards a dove went to the nest box and I was pretty sure it wasn't Hope. I got the stepladder and peered inside and wasn't sure what was going on. I took one quick photo.

My instinct told me that this dove wasn't Hope and that it was going to damage the babies; it seemed they were being trampled on. I had to make up my mind and act quickly. My hands were shaking and I was very upset, but I reached in and scooped it out, holding it very firmly indeed. It was feisty and strong and totally resistant to being held but I managed to get it confined in the dove 'hospital' box. It definitely wasn't Hope, being smaller and not having her pink cochineal mark. Leaving the rascal shut up, I went to look at the babies. They were hunched and miserable, facing away from the light, and as far back into the nestbox as they could get themselves, but I couldn't see any definite signs of hurt, and I had been very quick getting the intruder out.

Firstly I got the intruder food and water. I wondered if it was a young male intent on killing Glory's offspring and having Hope for himself, or a young female somehow wanting to take over the nest. I had to go out as I had an appointment and didn't want to let the other people down. I came back more than two hours later, and no doves were around, and no Hope - but that was not unusual for the time of day. I put the stepladder up and peeped at the babies - they seemed fine and had turned around and were facing the light.

I took their 2 week old photo!

By late lunchtime Hope was back in the cote and feeding them, and then she sat calmly looking out of the nest box window. I was so relieved!

Hope may have been calm, but I was not - my insides, ridiculously, felt wobbly all day! I didn't know what to do with the intruder for a start.

Hope spent the day as usual and I saw her feed the babies at 5pm and 7pm, also much as usual. I felt we had got over the crisis point. The sun was going down, it was getting chilly, and Hope seemed settled in the nestbox. I was preparing supper thinking my dramas were over for the day. I had previously emailed my two dove blokes - Bob Friar and Dave Frost, and both had come back with reassuring messages telling me I'd done the right thing by taking the interloper out of the nest. Everyone at Purplecoo had also been extremely kind and supportive.

And then sometime after 7pm, I saw Hope just fly out of the cote, over the roof and away!

It was getting darker, and colder and I had no idea whether she would come back or what to do if she didn't!

To be cont...

The end