A BIG surprise! and Patience's progress

Fri 22nd February 2013
(Warning - some pictures in this blog you may find upsetting)

If you read my last blog you will know that I found a pigeon on my path on Tuesday very much wounded but still alive after a hawk attack.

Patience, as I call her, is very nervous, understandably, but slowly recovering. Since finding her and taking her to the vet, I have been keeping her in a dog carrying box in my spare room. Photos of her are on the last blog, and more to come later in this blog.

There was another attempted hawk strike this morning, and I was right there! It was about 8am, I was feeding the flock, when suddenly, out of nowhere as always, there was the hawk scuffling near the path with a pigeon (which got away)  and the birds all scattered, and as they went there was a low white streak, and I realised Summer had left the nest! My heart sank..... these poor eggs. Today was supposed to be hatching day, but the eggs were left on Tuesday and got cold, but I still hoped they would be ok, but now..... I popped my gloves over them to keep them warm, and in fact (yes I know I am bonkers!) I put some other pairs of gloves on the aga, and as the first pair cooled I swapped them over, and did this several times. Eventually it was 40 mins since Summer had left, and I was babysitting for my daughter so I removed the gloves and left the garden - hope all gone. Except for that tiny glimmer of hope for a miracle! I think these eggs are doomed though and I feel dreadful about it.

When I came home a few hours later, a parent was on the nest and when the doves came to feed, Summer was with them, so I knew it was Sky. I have resigned myself to the eggs not hatching, and I expect Sky and Summer to realise it in a day or two and abandon the eggs totally. I wish it was otherwise but I can't see how it can be.

This morning I had made the decision NOT to put Santa out while I wasn't going to be there to keep an eye out, and when that hawk swooped I knew I'd made the right one! But Santa was sitting looking forlornly out of the conservatory window when I got home, so I allowed her out. I can't keep her in all day, every day - she must take her chance but I hope she's spared to grow up through this spring and summer. I have only just noticed - probably because I have been concentrating on Patience and Santa - that Autumn is missing. Another sadness. I hope she hasn't been a hawk victim too. I hate this time of year - I am afraid to come back to my own garden for what I might find. I can't really relax in the afternoons til Santa comes in and keep checking the roof! The last few days, hubbie has not be here at around 4 - 4.30pm - luckily, as I have a bit of difficult getting her in. I leave the kitchen door open, and then when I peep and see Santa is hovering in the doorway, I go quickly out of the conservatory door, through the garden, and come back to the kitchen thus blocking her exit, and so I can shut the door behind me. If I try to close the door when she's just come in - it usually results in her getting nervous and retreating to the garden, and then we have to start all over again. Today she came through to the sitting room, and I took a quick snap of her on the armchair before capturing her and taking her off for peanuts and bedtime!



Sat 23.2.13 - Rarely have I had such a stressful dovie day, but let's start at the beginning. I wanted to go out to do a big shop so decided to keep Santa in - it was bitterly cold anyway, with little snowflakes being blown about in the wind. Obviously, I fed the flock, dealt with Cloud, Santa, and Patience. I took some photos of Patience - it's four days since the attack.



Here she is wrapped up in a tea-towel, while I give her her meds and feed her - the spotty things are my knees in pyjamas! I wrap her up in several cloths/towels, so she is a nice 'bundley' shape and then I can hold her between my knees, leaving both hands free to use the syringe for the anti-bios etc

 

Afterwards, she escaped to the far end of the bed...

 

 

 

Pigeon recovering from hawk attack

 

 

She is very scruffy of course after her horrific experience, but standing well, eating and healing.

 

I left Santa in the conservatory.....I hate her being in the same room as Cloud but have no other option - she doesn't like the hutch. I shut Cloud in so Santa can't enter her crate, as she did once. Poor Santa didn't get outside at all today - read on to see why....but she does have the freedom of the conservatory.

 

 

 

 

When I came home from shopping, I thought all was well, until I spotted the hawk between the hutch and the run, standing on top of a pigeon. I couldn't tell at first if the pigeon was alive or dead.

 

 

But when the hawk moved it to the raised bed, I could see it was dead. I hope it died quickly, but it's a horrible way to go....

 

 

 

 

Surprisingly, while the hawk was still in the garden, there were a row of birds on the roof!

 

 

 

I went inside to see Cloud, Santa and Patience and hoped to be able to see from the conservatory if either parent dove was in the cote, but I couldn't tell. I didn't want to frighten the hawk from it's meal as then it would only kill another bird, and the pidg was dead so it might as well eat...... I think the grey sparrowhawks are the males, and the females more brown, but I am not entirely sure which this one was, and I don't care. I made a miserable mug of tea and waited, and when it eventually left I popped out to look in the cote. No-one inside, which wasn't a surprise. I felt the eggs and they were cold BUT then as my eyes accustomed to peering into the dark of the nest, I realised that - oh my god - one had started to crack! Could the baby really still be alive? I carried the cracked egg out and put it in a rough nest of tea-towels and gloves, whatever I could grab, on top of the aga.... and watched. As the fissure widened, I could see a tiny little translucent moving beak! This baby WAS alive!

 

Pigeon egg hatching on top of the aga



 

Truly I could hardly believe it.....the miracle I had hoped for was happening! I went and got the other egg, and put it next to the hatching one in the warm. And then I went and popped one of my plastic eggs in the nest so if either parent came back they would see an egg and hopefully stay. My book 'Feral Pigeons' says 'Young hatch without active help of parents, but the presence of parents is required for regulation of temperature'.  That is why I interfered - to keep the hatching baby and the other egg warm until a parent came back.

 

20 minutes later one of the parents entered the nestbox. I zoomed over with the two eggs wrapped in the folded over cloths and aga pad, and put them under her (or him) - but it was probably Summer. She didn't seem to mind - Summer is far more amenable and tame than Sky is. I felt much relieved and now hoped that everything would be ok. I took her a little pot of grains and peanuts so she had food to hand and didn't need to leave the cote. A while later, it started to snow a little more heavily, and several birds came down for a feed - Sky amongst them. He did a change-over with Summer and was now in charge. I wasn't exactly delighted as he isn't as conscientious as Summer, and when something made the already nervous and jumpy birds fly off, he left the nest and flew off with them. The eggs were alone once more! I waited five minutes but the birds didn't come back, so again I had a look inside the cote.

 

 

Dove squab hatching





The baby was wriggling and was further out of the shell than it had been before. (In the photo, the white and brown thing you can see at the front is actually a poop!). What to do now? Sky had still not come back, and as far as Summer was concerned it was his watch and she might not come back for a couple of hours! I did the same as before, carried the eggs inside to my makeshift nest on the aga.

 

 

Baby dove hatching on top of the aga



The baby continued to hatch out of the egg in front of my fascinated gaze! It was tiny, but somehow bigger than I thought it would be. You can't see it in the photo, but I brought the unhatched egg in too the second time. I did not interfere with the hatching at all, as I know that can be dangerous - I just let it happen. By the time Sky came back half an hour later, the baby was totally hatched, and I was thinking that I could feel something.......movement... in the other egg but I wasn't sure. I took the hatchling and the egg back to him, and then did something I have never done to the adult birds before - I blocked him in with one of the square mesh feeding pan things. I had an event to go to, and wanted to make sure he stayed in with the baby and egg while I was gone, no matter what happened. I was pretty sure I'd be back before Summer wanted to come in for the night. When I got back, I could see that the hawk had re-visited it's kill as there were more feathers everywhere.Sky seemed perfectly content though, settled well back in the nest-box. I unblocked him of course and tried to keep a watch out for Summer, but I had Patience to attend to and may have missed the change-over. There is definitely a parent there for the night, and normally it would be Summer so I assume it is. "Aren't you amazed the egg hatched?" I said to Hubbie. "No" he said "Nature is very powerful".  I am worn out......

 

Sun 24 Feb 13 - 8am - I allowed Santa out with the flock as I am home to keep an eye on the garden. Later on there were a few pigeons, and one white dove on the roof that was not Santa, so she has flown off with them, and I can only hope she gets back safely.

 

Here is a photo of Cloud today..... I don't know what I am going to do with her..... she's not getting any better or doesn't seem to be.....

 

 

White dove with paramyxovirus



 

I have made an emergency nest in a round sweet tin lined with bits of old towel - which I hope I don't have to use - and put it under the kitchen table, just in case. This means that if the baby or babies are left again, I can pop them in that til the parents come back. Squabs really need a parent with them continuously for the first 7 days - according to my book - until they can thermo-regulate.

 

Yesterday when I was panicking about the babies I contacted the lady from this site http://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/ and she was very helpful and supportive, and mentioned this site http://www.ravenhaven.co.uk/  as she felt the people there might take my babies if necessary. I do urge you to have a look at Raven Haven - there are all sorts of interesting stories about the original rescued raven, Tarquin, and a blog about the continuing work going on there. If you want to have a laugh find the bit about the Poop Pick game! In my ignorance, I thought there were only ravens at the Tower of London http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/theravens and in Scotland but according to my research there are even breeding populations in my home county of Surrey. From what I've been reading they are intelligent and fascinating birds. There's a little video of them on the Tower of London site. Charles II sounds like a man after my own heart! His astronomer, John Flamsteed, complained that the ravens impeded the business of his observatory in the White Tower but Charles instead of getting rid of the ravens, insisted they were protected, and moved the astronomer instead! 

 

Later - all has been quiet with no unwanted visits from the hawk, but my Santa didn't return at any point during the day. I checked for her, of course I did....and just before dark drove round the farm having a little look, but I am very much hoping she is with other birds from the flock and will turn up tomorrow. She can't pick up anything except tiny little grains, and there is not much natural food around but, knowing I was putting her out, I gave her quite a good hand-feed this morning with plenty of peanuts. My Santa baby - aged 81 days - has finally grown up and left home (sad face).

 

Monday 25.2.13 - A few early pigeons and one white dove were on the roof first thing this morning. I was delighted that the dove was Autumn who has been missing for about a week. It always pleases me when a missing bird turns up as it goes to show that they can fend for themselves. But I'm not so sure that Santa can, and she didn't come back today. You may wonder why I let her out at all, but remember this was by no means the first time she had been out, and she had always returned to the cottage door to be let in.... and I didnt have any reason to keep her in. She may still come back, I do hope so.

 

But better news.... when Summer was in the cote, I went up the steps to fill her little pot of grains, and took my camera, just in case..... and yes, I could see a fluffy yellow baby. The baby is ok, hurrah!

I'm not sure what part of it you can see in the photo - maybe it's foot?

 

 



 

And later, I couldn't resist having another peep, and I could see both of them. The other egg did hatch and both the new babies are alive and well. To me this is incredible because it goes to show that eggs can be left in the nest - in a very cold February - for an hour or even more and become totally cold, and still hatch. These babies will be the first squabs from my cote that I know exactly how old they are! I know for absolute sure that the first egg was there on the early morning of Monday 4th Feb (I checked back on my blog for when I saw it

 

Tomorrow will be a week since Patience was attacked, and how is she? I decided to have a good look at her today, as much as she would let me, and take photos. I let her out to stand on her box and I gave her a kiss on her little head before I put her back!

 

 



 

 



 

 

 

 



 

 

 I put out a pot of water to see if she would drink on her own, but she didn't.

 

 

 

The next two photos show her wound close up - so if you don't want to see skim over them quickly.

 

 

 

 

I presume the wound is healing but to my inexperienced eyes it doesn't look that great. I don't know what the yellow thing is - it looks like a piece of maize. If it is it must mean the crop is ruptured but how can it be as she eats whatever I feed her, drinks and does normal poops? It doesn't smell, or only very slightly, and I am still using the gel the vet gave me. I always that it was good for a wound to scab over but apparently not, the best thing is 'moist healing' - which is what the gel is for - and if you google that you will find a lot of interesting information. I've also found what looks like a super product Medihoney Wound Paste but it doesn't seem available in this country - has to come from USA, and is expensive. I'd like to try it though as I believe in honey for healing.

 

Tuesday 26th Feb 13 - another horrible hawkey day. There was an attempted strike at just after 11am and Sky bombed it out of the nestbox. I had seen the change-over and wished that I had blocked him in, but too late now. Sky, in a crisis, panics and freaks out so I must stay calm and carry on! I looked at the fuzzy little yellow babies in the nest, still with the plastic egg! - and waited some minutes but although other birds returned to the roof Sky didn't come back, so I removed the babies to the emergency nest I had made, and put it on top of the aga. From then on I kept one eye on the cote for the return of either parent - this meant I stayed in the kitchen, washed up, swept the floor, made soup, kept checking the babies, and looked at the cote every 2 seconds. The flock came for lunch at noon and Summer was with them. She ate but didnt even glance at the cote, and went away again. Although I enjoyed having the opportunity of seeing the babies and photographing them, I truly hate this happening and find it very stressful. The babies seem plump and healthy, making audible little noises, and they settled down happly in my nest. Adorable blind little things.

 

 

Four day old white dove squabs

Hubbie came home and we ate lunch, and at 12.55pm  (nearly 2 hours after the nest was left) one of the parents entered the box so I ran out with my tin nest and popped the babies back in. The parent tried to peck me, but within seconds the babies were underneath him or her and all was well. I didn't know then which parent it was. Other birds were still around so I got some more grain and was feeding them, when swoooooosh right in front of me the hawk swooped past into the midst of the flock. I was up the steps and blocking the nestbox up, quick as a wink, and then down to see the path on the other side of the hedge as that's where the hawk had gone. It had caught a pigeon, but saw me and flew off. You may think I should just let it have it's prey - after all it will only strike again and again until it kills - and I might be inclined to do so IF it would kill the bird it captures with just one cruel flash of a talon.... but it doesn't...... it holds them down, plucks the feathers off and eats the unfortunate thing alive. I just can't calmly get on with the next thing I would be doing knowing that is happening. My next task was to offer Patience her lunch-time drink of water - it would be crazy to be trying to save her while another bird knowingly suffers and dies in the garden - I just can't do it. The pigeon it caught flew to the hedge and wedged itself in, staying very still. I went to see if it was ok, but it wriggled through and flew away. Today was a lucky day for that particular pigeon!

 

I kept the block up on the cote for an hour, and then removed it, popping some peanuts in the little dish as compensation. The parent stayed in for the rest of the afternoon, and no more change-overs were done, so I know that it was Summer. I didn't see Sky til much later...... and still no Santa.

 

When I talk about the 'flock' I don't mean that all the birds are there at all the feeds. I presume they live in different locations, and are different groups. I see birds that I recognise or that I have ringed at different times of day. Goodness knows how many there are in total....but the hawk will diminish the numbers.

 

I had hoped to move Patience from the spare room to the conservatory today, as it is lighter and more interesting, but the conservatory is very cold, so I have decided not to try to hurry her on to the next stage til the weather warms up a bit. I just feel she must be a bit bored and lonely.

Back to the hawk problem - I can't stop worrying about it, and I don't know why. It is totally out of my control.  I know that there will always be hawks (and there will always be doves) and it is inevitable that some of my doves/pigeons, including the special ones, will get killed by the hawk. I even just now googled 'how to stop worrying' and one thing suggested to do is keep a journal/write about it - which is what I am doing now anyway! I have to accept that I can't protect these new babies from being left, and possibly dying from the cold (or being taken by a corvid), as I can't stay in the whole time. But I just know that if I come back home and find the nest parent-less and the babies dead I will be devastated. There seems no solution. 

Wed. 27th Feb 13 -  When I got Patience up this morning I found her standing on her brick - and the poops on the paper behind indicated she had probably been 'roosting' on it all night. That's the first time she's done that, so a good sign. I can't remember when I put the brick in with her - not at first as I didn't want her to hurt her injured bits on it, but it's been there for several days. This afternoon when I put her on top of her box while I quickly cleaned up inside, she tried to fly to the window - so she is definitely feeling better. I expect her wound will eventually heal fully, but I reckon she will always have a deep pit or scar there.

My garden was a HFZ - hawk free zone - today as far as I am aware, but I did see a pigeon in the late afternoon that had either lost an eye or damaged it. I couldn't get near enough to see. It also had tufts of feathers in two places on its back, which were evenly spaced and looked to me like the place where the hawk's talons had been, pulling up the soft under-feathers. It sat up on the roof above the cottage door until the early evening but didn't stay - luckily as that wouldn't be a very good spot.



No sign of Santa - I doubt I will ever see her again so I'm glad that one of the last photos I took of her is so sweet (the one of her standing on the armchair). To be honest, it makes me sad to think she has probably perished, so I try not to think of her like that. She was free to go, she went.... and now I must concentrate on the birds I do have here.

Thurs. 28th Feb - last day of February, goodness time does fly! - again HFZ thankfully as I had both my grandchildren all day and hadn't much time for attending to the birds.

Friday 1st March - Summer came out of  the nestbox to eat and relieve herself, so I got a glimpse and a photo of the babies for the first time since Sky left then on Tuesday. They've got their backs to us in the photo.



Today was a big day for Patience as I decided today was the day she needed to move on from the spare room to the conservatory - it was grey and mizzly but not too cold and I didnt move her til 1pm and put her back in the bedroom at 4.30pm. Most of the time she stayed at the back of her box - on a wrapped Snugglesafe hot water bottle...... (these microwave flat pads are great for poorly pets) http://www.snugglesafe.co.uk/index.htm Mine was the same price at my local pet shop though.



 At about 3.45pm she ventured into the 'outside' area....

 



At the afternoon meds/feed she struggled out of her holding cloth  (smashing my sweet tiny glass tankard that I've had for 30 years in the bargain - naughty Patience!) She didn't fly, just fluttered about on the table. The gel the vet gave me has run out, but I have a bird skin cream that I use and will continue on with that as the wound is still a bit nasty. Earlier on in the day I ringed her with a blue ring and will do another one tomorrow.

At 2.35pm the flock on the lawn were startled off, although I didn't see the hawk - and it may not have been the hawk, Sky followed his annoying pattern of abandoning the babies. I waited 5 mins and then took them in.



 The eldest is 6 days old now and has his eyes just open - the other's are still closed. I made a little ring mark on the eldest's leg with waterproof pen to mark it.

 

 

 

It was 20 mins before even one pigeon scout was back on the roof, but eventually there was a little line of them, including three white doves. I threw peanuts and they came down, but they weren't Sky or Summer. I kept watch, and hubbie came in for tea just before four, and still no parents. It's been an hour and a half now. Will I have to keep the babies in for the night, and hope Summer comes back  in the morning?

To be contd...



 

 







 



Daz and Vim fledge - but it's not all good news...

My last blog finished with Daz & Vim (above) about to fledge and Omo & Flash with another set of eggs about to hatch. So, so much has happened since then, and it's less than a month! Well to continue where I left off, it was into the second week of October '11 and I was still taking the babies out of the cote for a little 'play' every afternoon, In the picture below, they remind me so much of those other much loved baby doves, Victory and Purity - my two little dickey birds!


In the 'play pen', Daz is practising flapping his wings. They can fly short distances now.




I held them on my hands and let them fly. Below, Vim misses the entrance hole and lands on the cote - but not a bad try!



While the babies were learning to fly, I looked after a poorly dove for a few days. I didn't name it as I could see it wasn't going to make it. Here it is in typical ill bird manner, and the next morning my neighbour came in from the yard, with a little white bundle, saying 'I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.....'

On Tuesday 11th Oct '11 the babies fledged aged about 32 days. That morning Flash arrived about 8am (Omo had, of course, spent the night on the eggs), and Vim came out of the cote and onto the hedge, then popped straight back into the cote again!- I think Vim is the oldest, he acts as if he is! For one hour Flash went back and forth encouraging the babies out. His efforts were rewarded when Vim at last came out again, and Daz followed. At first they just did little trips from the hedge to the cote, and then to Jose's table, where they squeaked, begging for food. I didn't see Flash feed them, but eventually I think he did feed Daz, actually inside Jose's hutch. I could see the tail movements that indicate feeding. At last, that morning both babies settled in two different compartments of the cote.
First time out themselves (without me helping!) - the hedge needs trimming! It's like walking in a jungle!

The next morning, Wed 12th Oct, the babies were out on the hedge at 7.50am before Flash had arrived in the garden, and from there they went to Jose again. Daz went inside her hutch, and she was aggressive towards him, but jumped down from the table and left the squabs up there before I had to intervene. Flash arrived at 8.1oam and found no babies in the nestbox! He sat there, blocking the entrance for a long while. I took the babies from inside the hutch - where they had put themselves - and placed them on the hedge, and they started following Flash about, and squeaking but I didn't see him feed them. Eventually I caught Jose and put her back on her table - it is hers, after all! and she started to tolerate the babies, like she had done Fairy.

Above - Daz, preening, and Jose

Below - Vim, Flash with his back to us, and Jose

You will probably remember the revolting louse flies from the last blog? I treated the babies with Johnson's Anti Mite before they started flying properly, and they were now clear of all visible parasites. Here's an enlarged photo of the lice - I don't know the proper name. To the naked eye they just look like tiny little pencil lines. I decided any doves/pigeons I catch now, for whatever reason, will be treated with this product, just to be on the safe side. Even if they die (the bird, not the lice!) then at least if the parasites have been treated they can't infect another bird.

Now the babies had properly fledged, other doves started being interested in the cote. But any time an intruder stopped for a look, Flash 'flashed' over and routed them out! He also sat for long periods inside the nest box guarding it, when he wasn't on duty on the eggs. Flash is in his cote, and all's right with the world, and woe betide anyone else who tries to muscle in!

Later that day, the babies put themselves to bed, together, in the nest box about 4.30pm - so cute!

Thurs 13th Oct, I was out all day (don't worry, my husband feeds the doves when I'm not there!) and by the time I came home at 5pm all the doves had left the garden, including Flash. The babies were in the hutch, so I put them back in the cote, and looked round for Jose, who came casually walking out of my back kitchen! - and of course she went back in her hutch and was shut in for the night.

The next morning, there were lots of doves flying round the cote, and Flash again sat in the nestbox for ages, doing his best to defend his castle. You can see four doves here, all wanting to take possession - and Flash in here in the front nestbox, and Omo of course is round the back, where you can't see her, on the nest.

I didn't see Flash in the late afternoon that day which was a bit unusual and by 4.45pm the light was going anyway.
The next day, Sat. 15th, and Flash didn't appear in the garden in the morning, and I was very worried. Where was my feisty Flash? but Thank God Daz and Vim had fledged, and could feed themselves!

In the afternoon, some of the other doves, and pigeons had a communal bath and it's always a pleasure to see them, and a good photo opportunity. In the summer there was a vast flock of over 80 birds sometimes, and I despair of feeding them all - it is so expensive. I have to ration it a bit, and try to make sure all grain is eaten before I put any more down. Currently, from my supplier, the grain is £17.99 a 25g sack (delivered to my door by a lovely young man who is interested in the doves) and they get through that in a week.

They also get any stale bread, and I sometimes buy loaves for them if it is reduced, and crumbs from under the toaster and the biscuit tin. Funnily enough, they treat bread as a treat and fight over it!

At 2.30pm, I saw Omo come out of the nest, eat and then go back to the eggs. With no Flash around to do his time on the eggs, I wondered what would happen. My book said that, if the male is lost, females still continue to incubate the eggs for the full time, and these eggs are due to hatch in three days. If it's the other way around - the female lost - then males, apparently leave the nest within a few days. I can't believe Flash has gone - something must've happened to him - he was a good father, and I don't think he would just desert Omo. At 5pm Omo came out again, and had a long drink, and ate some food. No other doves were around, except one I'd ringed - one of the one's who used to eat peanuts from my hand in the summer - Shanti. Omo sat with him on the roof for a minute or two, then, to my relief, flew back to the cote. She seemed to forget, and went to the old nest - the babies were in bed, and squeaked loudly - before she 'rememered' and went back to the eggs.

Sunday 16th Oct - The first light frost of the season, and for a second I imagined someone had laid a white cloth on the garden table! - and still no Flash. I haven't seen him since Friday morning. We had a horrible morning - other doves seemed intent on taking over the cote and Omo was very upset. She kept popping her head out of her nest box, and getting off the eggs and going back to them. A Flash lookalike, with black feathers in his tail, kept fluttering round and I flapped a scarf at him, but nothing I could do would stop him, and the others. If it wasn't him, it was another. By 10.45am it seemed that Omo had abandoned the nest. I lightly touched the eggs and they were cold. Something I read on the internet said that eggs can get cold and the chicks still be reared - I doubted it!! But a couple of hours later, Omo was back on the eggs again - is there still hope? I found it all very distressing, and decided I must just get on with my own stuff, and leave the doves to it. The squabs, Daz and Vim, go off roaming but I suspect not too far. They are often on Jose's table or in and out of the hutch or cote. At 3.3opm I heard such dreadful squeaking that I had to go and investigate. I nearly always watch before I interfere and I saw what looked like an adult in the nest box of the dovecote, dragging one of the babies by it's neck, so I got up onto the steps and the dove came out and flew off - and it was Omo! I could tell by her blue felt tip marks on her side and tail (I'd marked her some while ago). Immediately, the baby, it was Vim, also came out and flew off, none the worst, but I sensed another bird in the nest box - (this is the old nesting place where Daz and Vim were reared, not the ones with current eggs in) - and when I looked in, I couldn't believe it! There was a blue ringed dove - Flash!! It was 48 hours since he'd last been seen in the garden! I can't imagine what can have happened to him or where he had been! Peanuts all round to celebrate my hero's return! Omo went back to the nest - I don't know if it will be too late.

Daz and Vim in Jose's hutch, dazzlingly white!

I am still seeing Fairy, Flash and Omo's first singleton squab, who is now about three and a half months old. I've always suspected he is a he, and this was confirmed when I saw him courting on the roof, displaying typical male behaviour. Below, he's not looking his best, the photo is fuzzy and he is moulting on his head! According to my book, effective sexual maturity is not reached until well after six months of age. Fairy is big and quick and comes running when peanuts are thrown - well he was brought up on them!

Flash had returned, thankfully, but he seemed different - deflated and subdued. Maybe he'd had a nasty experience. He did eat but then he went to the hutch - Jose wasn't there, she was on the ground, but the babies followed him there and started squeaking and amazingly I saw him feed them both one after the other! - this of course was 48 hours or more after he'd last fed them, so it's lucky they weren't relying on him for food. The photo below is out of sequence, sorry - but shows Flash on the left, Daz on the brick stretching his wings, and Jose drinking. This was a typical scene in the first week or so after the babies fledged.



After Flash had fed his babies, he settled down on the branch inside the hutch. He has never done that before, and stayed there for a long time, quietly. Later, he came out, but sat under the hutch on the support for the table. He's never done that before either - he's definitely changed.

As the sun went down behind the roof and the other doves started to leave the garden, Flash put himself back in the hutch again. The babies hovered around on the table and nearby. Jose was still on the ground and I could see her getting flustered - time for bed! I didn't want to upset Flash in case he planned to spend the night and I didn't know what to do. By the time he had flown away - out of the hutch and the garden, Jose was nowhere to be seen. It was gloomy and about 4.30pm, and I searched on and off for about an hour but couldn't find her. Omo was on the nest and I was still hoping there was a chance for the eggs, and Daz and Vim were in the cote. Eventually Jose came out of wherever she was and I caught her and put her in the hutch. A stressful and exhausting day for us all!

Monday 17th Oct - Flash was not there for the morning feed and Omo and the babies had already left the cote when I went out into the garden. I had to go out, and the weather wasn't good so I made Jose a cage box on top of the hutch, leaving the hutch open for Daz and Vim to get protection. The other doves are often not allowing them into the cote now during the day. When I came back at lunchtime, there were two doves in the box where the eggs were, and I doubted if one was Omo, one dove in the side, and one dove in the old nest box - who? Again, I had to go out, but when I came back at 4.30pm ish the garden still had good light and plenty of doves around. Jose was where I left her, of course, Daz and Vim together in the cote in the compartment facing the hutch,a dove in the old nest box, one in the back and two in the box (with the eggs) - 6 doves in the cote at the same time, more than I've ever had together, and they looked pretty, but I was sad about the eggs.

By ten past five, all doves except Jose, Daz and Vim had left the cote and the garden, except for two doves on the roof. When they came lower I could see it was Flash and Omo, and they did go back to the cote, but not to the eggs. At ten to six, Omo was in the old nest box (where Daz and Vim were reared) and Flash in one of the side ones. The eggs are certainly abandoned now, there can be no hope. Is Flash going to spend the night? He never has before. By 6.07pm the garden was very gloomy and I was inside, but heard a loud clap of wings and when I checked, Flash was gone. Five minutes later it was very dark indeed.

Tuesday 18th Oct'11 - Today should have been hatching day, a good day, but instead it was a gloomy one. I got up early and while Daz & Vim, and Omo were still in the cote, I put the steps up and removed the stone cold eggs.

Flash was there for the morning feed, and there was lots of activity round the cote, but he didn't send the other doves away. He seems to have lost all interest in defending the cote. I had so many unanswered questions - why did Flash go away? Had he been trapped somewhere or was it his own choice? Why did Omo abandon the eggs? Was it because Flash wasn't around or because the other doves were in and out of the cote upsetting her? or did she know the eggs were duds like the other egg with Fairy, and the two laid in between Fairy and Vim & Daz? I could answer that question at least, by opening the eggs. If you don't wish to see, then scroll down the next two photos quickly. The eggs were not duds, I cracked them both and there were what looked to me like perfect little squabs inside.

I removed the membrane and laid the babies out properly. It seemed very sad to me that they would never know any life outside of the egg. But if they had hatched and all had gone well, they would not have fledged until mid November - hardly the best season of the year.



Two of my blog readers had suggested names for these babies, so to give them some dignity in death, I named them, Dreft and Burti (a German soap powder) and wrapped them up with tiny flowers from the garden for the river burial that all my dead birds get - back to nature, you poor little things.

18th October was also the anniversary of the day I had found Jose had Claremont National Trust a year ago, and brought her home, as she was unable to fly and therefore dying of hunger and thirst. Happy Anniversary Jose! - I'm so glad you have had a year with me! Here's the link to that story http://faithsdoves2.blogspot.com/2010/12/special-dove-and-turtle-doves.html

I've bought myself some new Turtle Dove gloves, as also mentioned in that blog, as I have managed to lose both those pairs. They are lovely, and so useful, made of recycled jumpers - I gave several pairs as Christmas presents last year and everyone seemed delighted with them - have a look here - http://www.turtle-doves.com/ I don't have shares in the business, I just adore the gloves!

Wed 19th Oct and only Daz stayed the night as Vim flew away with the rest of the doves. I hoped he managed to stay with them, and come back the next day. The next night, surprisingly, Omo stayed the night, but from then on no doves stayed at all. During the day there was still lots of comings and goings in the cote. Below you see Flash with his blue ring on the ledge on the old, most favoured, nest box, with Omo just underneath him, and other adult doves in other compartments. Flash didn't seem in the least bothered by them.

One day a little blue tit flew in to the kitchen - this often happens as the door is mostly open. I caught it, but it escaped from my hands and crash landed on the kitchen floor. It seemed stunned so I put it in the box and it sat there, legs splayed out, for a while, but thankfully recovered and flew off. The last thing I need is a poorly blue tit to look after!

The next few days were fairly uneventful. I kept a note of the days I saw Daz & Vim and Fairy. I didn't see either D or V for four long days between Sat 22nd to Wed 26th and was beginning to think they were lost, but I saw Daz that afternoon and on Thursday 27th, both of them. It makes me happy to see in the garden, and sad when I don't! Fairy I saw practically every day. Of course, they might have come to the garden when I wasn't around. Although this blog might seem like I watch them constantly, of course I don't!

On Wednesday 26th, Omo seemed to be fighting for the cote. Every time another dove went in her favourite compartment - the old nestbox - she was in there, trying to get them out - fighting like a male, really. The other dove, probably a male, was persistent, and I just tried to ignore them. Where was Flash? Well that day, unfortunately, I noticed Flash seemed to have symptoms of paramyxovirus. This is a very distressing illness and at that time I thought any bird catching it was bound to die, but I read up a little and found this excellent website - http://www.pigeon-aid.org.uk/pa/html/paramyxovirus__pmv_.php You can also see film of pigeons with paramyxo on youtube - just put in pigeon paramyxo and you will get something up. I haven't got a link, I can't bear to watch them with it. Symptoms include difficulty in picking up seed - they keep pecking and missing, twisting and craning the neck into un-natural positions, and crash landings. The website I found seemed to imply that one of the reasons most feral pigeons with paramyxo would die was due to being unable to get enough food. It makes sense that if a bird can't pick up available seed quickly, the others will, and gradually it would get weaker and die, or become prey to a predator. I hoped to be able to catch Flash so I could help him, but there was no chance of that - he could still fly well, so the only thing I could do was to try to make sure there were deep bowls of food available when he was around so that when he was stabbing randomly at the grain he was bound to get some into his beak. Of course, paramyxo is extremely contagious and at the time there was another white dove coming into the garden with it, but after a few days I didnt see it, and assumed it had died. For the next few days, I wondered if each day I saw Flash would be the last time. If you didn't know, you might think a bird with paramyxo was drunk when you watch them try to land on the roof, and fall down the other side. I still hoped at some point I'd be able to catch him, and on Saturday 29th at about 5pm, in gloom of the late afternoon when I was sitting here at my lap top, I caught sight of a spinning white thing whirling down into the garden near Jose's hutch. Flash had crash landed, dizzy and disorientated, and was on the ground! I rushed out with the net and managed to catch him after several attempts which were stressful for both of us. I isolated him in the hospital box with food and water, and he spent the night in our conservatory. The next day, after treating Flash with the anti-mite stuff, I rang the vets and asked if my lovely vet, G, would see Flash, and an appointment was made. I have great respect for G, he was wonderful when my little dog was so poorly. The only appointment I could get was 5pm which is not a great time for birds as obviously at this time of year it's dark and they want to be roosing, but Flash was very good and quiet inthe car on the way, and let G handle him without struggling. G said he was in good condition, not thin and with plenty of muscle. He said that there is nothing you can give a bird with paramyxo (you can vaccinate against it of course, but too late for that now!) and the only treatment is supportive nursing care. My visit cost £23.12 - but not grudged for my special boy, Flash. You may wonder why I put so many dates, times, costs etc into my blog - it's for my own reference, but I also think that sort of thing can be interesting at a later date. From what I had read I knew that if Flash was going to recover it might well take 6-12 weeks. I couldn't keep him in a small box for all that time! As a temporary measure I fixed up the cage on the garden table, and he stayed in that all day, with me taking him into the conservatory at night.

To the unknowing eye, Flash appears like any other healthy bird, but when you see him eat or crane his neck you can see there is something wrong with him. The picture below shows him twisting his neck - sorry, it's a fuzzy photo but you get the idea. I started thinking I must get another hutch... and a run. New hutches are very expensive so I dismissed buying new, and focussed on ebay, gumtree and freecycle. What you focus on, you get! I found the perfect thing on my local gumtree and went to view it. The very nice man had made it himself and it was just what I wanted - thank you Universe! - but no way could I get it into my car, and my husband, with the pick-up, was away. But M agreed to deliver it, and all for £35, what a bargain! I was out on the day he delivered but when I got home, there it was on the lawn, and very easy for me to get into position as it has wheels at one end. A super hutch, off the ground, a ramp for Flash to walk up and down, and a big run - absolutely spot on! I moved it into position and could hardly wait for the morning to put Flash in it. I felt dreadful keeping him in such a small thing, even though he is ill.

On Tue 1st Nov - into November already I can't believe it! - I noticed a pigeon on the lawn that was 'odd' - I wondered if it was actually blind as it seemed to be staying close to the others but didn't seem able to see or pick up the food. I netted it easily, and put it in a box with some food and it started to eat. I kept it for the night, and in the morning, ringed and sprayed it against lice etc and set the open box down on the lawn. It had beautiful green iridescent feathers round it's neck like so many pigeons do, so I named it Emerald. Since then she has spent every night on the roof - even through the nights of pelting rain we've had recently - and seems ok, but slow, coming down with the others to feed. Another EG, I think. She's definitely a female as I have seen males trying to court her. Last night another pidgie stayed with her, so perhaps she has a mate, or a friend.

Friday 4th Nov - I am up bright and early to put Flash in his new hutch and run. He spent some time standing in one position viewing it, but seemed to accept it, and didn't try to fly or flap against the wire, like some birds do in captivity if they are used to freedom. I hate confining him, and feel guilty about it, but it will probably be his only chance of recovery and survival. Once he is fully better, I shall release him - unless we have snow, or are due to have snow. I may well have to keep him for the winter.


Flash explored the whole arrangement and soon went up and down the ramp into the hutch part. I put water in a big bowl, and his deep food bowl in a separate place, with a sack and some plastic to prevent it getting wet if it rained. There was also a brick to sit on, and upstairs in the hutch I lined it with newspaper so I could change it easily every day. Hygiene is always important, but even more so with a bird with paramyxo. It is not contagious to humans, but obviously I wash my hands after dealing with him, or any birds for that matter. That late afternoon I assumed Flash would go up the ramp and put himself to bed. But no! despite having been up and down the ramp and in the hutch before, he just sat on the brick and the sky darkened. I couldn't leave him there, but getting into the run was not easy, with no-one to help me. Where there's a will, there's a way and I am quite strong willed, so I heaved the run up from the end and wiggled underneath. Flash stayed motionless on the brick while I was doing this, and I picked him up easily (that was the only easy bit about the whole thing!) and put him into the hutch. Then I had to wiggle out again, getting damp and filthy on the grass. I wasn't totally happy that I couldn't shut him in so he was enclosed entirely, like Jose, as if a predator got into the run it would be able to reach him in the hutch. My plan had been that he would walk up the ramp into the hutch in the later afternoon, and I would open up the back, pick him up and put him in the box for the night in the conservatory. Now I didn't dare open the hutch in case it startled him and he ran down into the run again! So I draped some old sheets over the top and sides of the run and hoped for the best. There were fireworks that night, so I was glad that at least he was in the hutch.
Sat 5th Nov- I had to coax Flash out of the hutch part and into the run in the morning, but otherwise he seems fairly well. He has had a least one episode that I saw that looked like a fit - where he flapped his wings continously while moving backwards - and he sometimes seems to cough up seeds, but these are a part of his illness. That night he, thankfully, put himself to bed and I didn't have to wiggle in again. But again I didnt dare to open up and get him out for the night. Getting his food and water bowls out to clean etc are a problem, but my neighbour helped by lifting the run up for me and soon my hubbie will be home.

Today is Sun 6th Nov and we are up to date. The last time I saw Fairy and Vim was yesterday, but I haven't now seen Daz since the 1st. I saw Omo billing and cooing with another male today. She has forgotten her in sickness and in health vows!
To be contd