Fennie is injured - and the babies grow up

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.   

Fennie finds a safe roost for himself

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!

Jubilee Great Tit

Below are Olympia and Elizabeth, at the doorway of the cote, aged about 25 days

My Turn!

Swap places!

Your turn!

Sky selects the nicest grains for his babies

Has a quick drink

Looks up at the cote to judge the distance

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!

After 4 weeks in the nestbox, very dirty baby white dove!

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!)

Bobbie3 is released and Cloud arrives needing help

16.4.12 -
I was away 12-16th March and my husband was looking after Jose and Bobby3. I went to Butlins, Bognor with my daughter and two little grandchildren– we had a great time. There was even a few white doves around – the photo above shows them on the top of the Skyline Pavilion.
Another bird there that had my grandson in giggles was the seagull pulling at the bushes – I couldn’t work out why it wanted to! Was it eating it, or looking for nesting material, or what?

Below are a couple of photos of Ollie – my oily rescue pigeon. They turned out to be some
of the last photos, as I haven’t seen him since. Actually I think he was an Olivia, and hope she’s gone off with a male to nest somewhere else.

Hubbie and I were both going away in early April, so I decided that I would release Bobbie3 a few days before we went and hope for the best. Though he wasn’t totally better, he was much improved and I ringed him with a blue ring. Fri the 30th was a good sunny day for a release. Here he is wrapped in a towel in my arms just before I let him go.

He flew straight to the roof, and the next time I saw him was on the Sunday. He was managing - thank goodness for that!

Sun 1st April and I came home late afternoon to find a white dove on the patio with a dark pigeon hovering near her. I recognised them as being a sweet pair that I had seen together on a
number of occasions recently, thinking of them as Cloud and Storm. Cloud didn’t fly off as I approached and when I threw a few peanuts down, she dragged herself over to them to eat. Storm fluttered to the roof, and I dropped a soft cloth over Cloud and picked her up – sighing inwardly as I really didn’t need another bird patient two days before we were off on holiday! The same thing had happened last year just before I went away – I had a baby bird to look after and it
ended with the little thing being killed by a jay leaving me feeling dreadfully guilty for the first two days of the hols. Anyway, this dove, Cloud had possibly a damaged wing, was limping and had all her underneath feathers scraped off. What on earth had happened to her? Husband suggested she mighthave had a sparrowhawk encounter, and it’d got as far as him plucking off all
her feathers, but she had managed to escape. I couldn't think of any other explanation. I took her in for the night of course and anointed her tummy with the skin cream I bought for Olly. I also washed her feet!!!

The next day Monday 2nd April - I ringed Cloud with a blue ring on her good foot (realising after I’d done it that it was the same colour and leg as Bianca2) and set her down on the garden table.

After a short while, she flew to the roof and was joined almost immediately by Storm. I was thankful she could fly, and relieved that Storm was with her and mostly grateful I wouldn’t need to make arrangements for her while I was away.

Storm and Cloud flew off together, and I hoped he wouldn’t take her far, as I still felt she was weak. Later on when I went to visit my neighbour I could see them both on the roof opposite her house– I went back to get my camera and when I came back Storm was gone, and Cloud was alone, looking a bit hunched up and poorly.

At about 3pm they came back together to the garden, to eat, but soon, from the window, I saw unhappy Cloud on the ground with a rampant white male dove trying to mate with her, while she tried to drag herself away, and Storm hovering near, doing nothing to help! I shooed the male off and picked Cloud up, putting her in Jose’s vacant hutch (Jose had already gone to my daughter’s home to be looked after while we were away). My neighbour had kindly agreed to feed the doves for me (despite being just about to have a baby!) and I had to ask her to do what she could for Cloud too, as I felt I just couldn’t release her again. She just wasn’t fit enough – to join in the scrum for food, find water, and fly to and from wherever the pigeons roost.

Storm visiting Cloud in the hutch. I felt dreadful keeping them apart, but at least he knew where she was.

And I’ve saved the best news til last, we have new doves interested in the cote. Two pairs! A while ago I got the steps and emptied out the sticks in the most favoured nest box. I had seen Flash put one in but I hadn’t realised there were so many. It broke my heart to see all his lovely neatly arranged sticks in there and know he would’ve been nesting in my garden this summer for the second year if it hadn’t been for the hawk. It was hard to remove them, - not physically, but mentally -but I thought it might put other doves off if there was more or less a nest inside. Hubbie thought they might think ‘Good, a furnished flat!’ but I thought it would be better to remove them and let any newbies make their own.
And I’ve saved the best news til last, we have new doves interested in the cote.
Two pairs! A while ago I got the steps and emptied out the sticks in the most
favoured nest box. I had seen Flash put one in but I hadn’t realised there were
so many. It broke my heart to see all his lovely neatly arranged sticks in
there and know he would’ve been nesting in my garden this summer for the second
year if it hadn’t been for the hawk. It was hard to remove them, - not
physically, but mentally -but I thought it might put other doves off if there
was more or less a nest inside. Hubbie thought they might think ‘Good a
furnished flat!’ but I thought it would be better to remove them and let any
newbies make their own.

And I’m hoping this pair will settle – I have names for them, but let’s just wait and see if they stay first!

Lots more still to tell - so hopefully I will continue the blog in the next few days.....

Spirit

Spirit in the flower bed

Saviour waiting on the roof

1.9.08

On the 27th August, two doves spent the night on our roof. I was pleased to see them, but knew it was unusual and thought maybe they were just passing through.

The next day I realised that one of them had an injured wing and had drifted down to the garden but couldn't fly. I am pretty sure it is the female and I named her Spirit and her mate, Saviour, as he brought her here where it is safe.

The garden is fenced and my dog doesnt annoy the doves, so a poorly dove is fairly safe during the day, when I am around.

Thursday the 28th was about the worst day for me to find an injured dove in the garden. My poor little Yorkshire Terrier, who suffers from a collapsed trachea, was very ill indeed and I thought he was going to die, or have to be put to sleep. While my daughter watched over him, I nipped out to feed the doves and that's when I discovered poor Spirit. She was hiding in the flower bed, and her wing seemed to be drooping and slightly out of position. I put some food near her and a little bowl of water; she edged away from me while I did this.

In the early evening I was less worried about my dog as he seemed to be improving, thank goodness, so I went out to the garden to look for Spirit. She was in the same place, perched on a pot but I knew she would be vulnerable there all night - cats definitely come into the garden occasionally and we have also seen mink, and no doubt a fox could get in if it was really determined. I trapped her easily by bringing the big fishing net I keep for the purpose down over her as gently as possible, and then scooping her up. You have to hold doves with their wings together and against your body, and then they are ok and don't struggle.

I popped her up in the dovecote for the night, and put in a few seeds too. I have a weeny little terracotta water bowl for poorly doves in the dovecote, and I put it on the outer ledge. Saviour, on the roof opposite, could see her I'm sure.

Last night was the fourth night Spirit has spent in the dovecote, but the first night I couldn't see Saviour on the roof. I hope he hasn't abandoned her. Doves mate for life, but maybe he thinks she won't recover or maybe he has found a better roost for the night.

During the day, Spirit hides in the flower bed or comes out and walks on the lawn, especially if other doves are about. I don't normally feed the doves on the lawn any more (see previous blog) but I have been putting some down, so the doves are around for Spirit's sake.

Three times since she has arrived I have found her in the garden lying on her back, feet in the air, and her head turned to the side. It seems to be when she has been trying to hop up a little higher, to a step or a pot, to roost on and she's fallen down.

It's lovely having a dove in the dovecote again, and I have ringed her with orange. Pax's colour but I doubt he will ever come back. I MUST get some more rings; keep saying it and never do it.

I will let you know how Spirit gets on.

The end.