6th June 2012 - cont...
Fennie is a ringed dove, tame enough to eat peanuts out of my hand (when he chooses to!) and named after one of my blog readers. I was concerned when he arrived in the garden injured at the end of May. I couldn't tell what had happened to him - maybe he flew into something or met the hawk somewhere, but his wing was slightly out of alignment and a little bloody. Although getting off the ground was difficult for him, he could fly and he could eat, so as I couldn't catch him, there wasn't much I could do to help- except throw extra peanuts to him when he was on the ground! It was fortunate by that time that the heat wave had passed, as hot weather might have attracted flies to his injury and that would've been fatal for him. That night he stayed on the roof til all the other birds had gone and then put himself to bed on the cottage roof, under the gutter. This was a sensible choice as it would give him slight protection from the weather and more importantly hide him for the watchful eye of the hawk. Another poorly dove recently had chosen to roost on the security lamp, and the next morning was dead on the patio, having been partially eaten! He's stayed every night since, conserving his energy and gradually recovering.
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| Fennie finds a safe roost for himself |
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The doves and pigeons do different things in the summer months - here are a few congregating in the over-grown hedge under the dove cote for some reason. Below is a Great Tit who flew into the house over the Diamond Jubilee weekend. He looks enormous but it's just a very close close up!
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Jubilee Great Tit
Below are Olympia and Elizabeth, at the doorway of the cote, aged about 25 days
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| My Turn! |
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| Swap places! |
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| Your turn! |
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| Sky selects the nicest grains for his babies |
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| Has a quick drink |
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| Looks up at the cote to judge the distance |
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| Then flies up to feed Elizabeth and Olympia |
Olympia in the playpen - 29 days oldHere's the four week portrait of my unusual siblings. Olympia, the dark one, has a mottled head, and much green iridescence. I still haven't worked out who her real Daddy is!
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| After 4 weeks in the nestbox, very dirty baby white dove! |
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Above and below - Jose (fully grown) on the left and Olympia (4 weeks)
on the right - they are nearly the same size! |
The end (for now!)
