First Picture

Friday 27th March 2009





I just couldn't resist! While Hope was off the nest - which is most of the day now! - I got the step-ladder, put it up on the path, and used the zoom to get a picture of inside the dovecote. I didn't want to upset Hope or the baby/ies so I didn't put the ladder right up against the dovecote. With my naked eye I could see a fuzzy, misty little shape in the gloom and the photo shows the little baby, all yellow and fluffy! Yes, I know he's not cute, but I am so happy to see he is well. There may be another one in there too!





So this is the 'one week old' photo

Hope prefers to spend her day sitting on the roof, or flying with her friends. I am always concerned about her safety, and the welfare of the squab/s, until I see her back in the nestbox again.

I have managed to mark her, by flicking food colouring onto her back, and it is helpful that I can recognise her at feeding times.

I am still trying to have no expectations, but after seeing the baby, I can't help it!

The end

Very UN-happy Mother's Day

Wednesday 25th March 2009 Last photo of Glory. I was taking a picture of him to show you the pink colouring on his tail, which was my only way of marking him.

Warning: Sad blog and a couple of sad photos.

On Mother's Day last Sunday, I fed the doves on the island as usual at about 7.30 am. Glory, my daddy dove, was there amongst them all, and I threw him extra, as I do all the special doves that I recognise. Then, as it was Sunday I went back to bed for a bit. How I wish I hadn't. I got up again about 9.00 am and opened the kitchen door. My first thought was that there were petals all over the step, but after that one split second I realised that they were lots of little white feathers and the trail took my eyes to the left and there was a bloodied dead dove lying in a flurry of feathers in front of the coal bunker. I rushed down to the dovecote and was relieved to see a dove inside, but rushing back I was thinking 'Please, please don't let it be Glory!' but of course, it was. His little body was still warm. If only I'd been in the kitchen I might have averted the attack ... because of course it was a hawk that got him. A dove looks very beautiful, even in death, even if it has been violated like poor Glory - the closed eye, the turned up claws, the tragic limpness. I knew it was definitely Glory as I had marked his tail with pink food colouring (see previous blog). I was just so devastated that I was numb, I think. The horrible hawk had only eaten a small part of him - only a mouthful or so..... what a terrible waste. And the mess.... birds have an unbelievable amount of feathers. And poor Hope, how was she going to manage.....

The first egg had hatched out on the previous Thursday. I had been out in the garden, going to and fro from my 'second' kitchen which is a sort of outhouse and has my washing machine in it, and one trip, there was the egg shell, bang in the middle of the path, where it hadn't been a moment before! It was like a birth announcement - We have a baby! I was so happy. It made my day! I carefully picked the shell up and put it on my kitchen window sill. The next day, when Hope came out of the nest box she had an eggshell attached to her underneath, which quickly dropped off and I collected that too and put it with the other one.

So the poor little new baby squabs lost their daddy when they were only 2/3 days old and I was seriously worried that Hope would abandon them.

I didn't know whether I should show her Glory's body - doves do seem to mourn their dead -and I thought she might go off looking for him if she didn't know he was dead. So, in the end decided to put him on the hedge. She came out of the nestbox, but if she saw him she gave no sign and flew to the house roof, relieved herself, then flew down to the lawn, had some food, a quick drink and then back to the nest box - again ignoring, or not seeing, the body on the hedge.


I then removed him and gave him a little funeral, like I do to all my dead doves. Call me eccentric if you like, but I put pretty spring flowers on his body, hiding the worst of his wounds, and carried him over to the island on a flat woven basket. I did shed tears then - it all seemed so unnecessary - out of 40 odd doves, why poor Glory? I stroked his snow white feathers, humming 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' like I always do. Then I put him in the fast moving river to be swept away forever. R.I.P. Glory, my beautiful daddy dove.

I was going away that afternoon for the night, but there was nothing more I could do anyway, except make sure my husband kept an eye out for Hope. What will be, will be, I kept saying to myself as I drove down to West Sussex to visit my mother. Later that evening my husband rang to say that while he oiled the wood table and chairs in the garden, the hawk had made two more attempts on the doves - maybe I'd disturbed it with Glory and that's why not much of him had been eaten. Maybe it was still hungry and that's why it tried again. Both times my husband yelled and threw something at it, and both times the doves got away. It is worrying that the hawk is bold enough to swoop down on the doves even when someone is in the garden - I am a bit concerned about my little dog too! He's only the size of a large rabbit.

I didn't know if one parent dove could rear the squabs on it's own and emailed two dove blokes that I know - one, Bob Friar http://www.everlastingdoves.co.uk/ (see previous blogs) and two, a man called Dave Frost who sells, or did sell, info about doves from ebay, and kindly gives his email address for advice. Both of them were good enough to email back, and I was relieved to hear that one parent dove will rear the squabs alone, and is often successful in doing so.

Bob also told me that Belle - the dove I took back to him (see previous blogs) - has now hatched a new batch of eggs herself and has babies that are approx a week old. I was happy to hear that news.

Currently, all seems well, and Hope is coping, but I am trying not to have any expectations of what will happen next. The only thing I can do for her is to make sure food is readily available.

At my sister's - my elderly mother lives with her - we were walking round her garden and I found a white egg on the grass underneath her big holly tree. I picked it up and it was cold but heavy and only slightly cracked on the top. She was horrified that I decided to open it up, but I am interested in birds and have never had the opportunity before. I cracked the shell away carefully - the poor little minute baby bird inside was seemingly perfect but dead of course. I think it was a wood pigeon - she has lots in the garden, and it had the same shape of beak as the baby doves have. I pondered on why this egg had been turfed out of the nest - poor little thing, it didn't even get a chance at life. It must be better to have some time alive, as a bird, to be free.... even if you do end up in the vicious claws of a predator.

You know the signs that you see on old doors sometimes - No Hawkers? Well, I wish I could get one for my garden - NO HAWKS!

Hope, today, stretching her wings in the dovecote.

The end

(you might have to scroll down a bit for the comments section)

Altercation in the Dovecote

Wed. 18th March 2009

Last Sunday morning I realised that something was wrong in the dovecote, but I couldn't work out what it was. Normally one or other of the parents - Hope and Glory - would be sitting quietly inside the dovecote on the nest. The only 'happening' would be when they swapped shifts, and one went in to let the other out. I'm always glancing at the dovecote when I'm out in the garden, or from the kitchen or sitting-room windows and am happy to see a glimpse of tail or a little face in the gloom, but this time it seemed like a whirling dervish was in the dovecote -whatever that is! I got the camera, despite my panic, and took some photos but I couldn't really see what was happening. There was lots of movements, bits of wing or tail sticking out of the cote doorway, two doves in the cote.... and one dove sitting on the nearby low roof observing.

I called my husband and he went beneath the dovecote and clapped his hands. I didn't want him to do anything really and part of the problem was as Hope and Glory are not ringed I didn't know which dove was the intruder.

It is nearly time for the eggs to hatch and I was thinking why oh why has this happened, just when I wanted everything to go right. I imagined two pairs of heavy 3-pronged feet trampling about in the nest, breaking the eggs..... as Hope or Glory defended the nest.

Suddenly after about fifteen minutes, it all settled down. One dove was on the nest and all was quiet. I still don't know what happened. It appeared to me that there were two females and one male (Glory). This seems strange as I could understand a rogue male turning up and deciding he wanted to take possession of the nestbox, but why would another female want to cause trouble?

Since then, more than three days ago, all has been quiet and the eggs, by my calculation should hatch any day soon. Dove eggs take approx. 17-18 days to incubate.

I decided that, if possible, I needed to mark Hope and Glory. Catching them and ringing them would have been very difficult and would've upset them so I didn't even think of it. The only way was to try to sprinkle them with food colouring like I did the 'cochineal doves' (see one of my previous blogs). I know roughly the times the doves do the changeover and as Glory emerged from the dovecote I kept my beady eye on him, despite the lawn being covered with white doves, and managed to sprinkle some pink food colouring on his tail. Next day I tried to do the same, with green colouring, on Hope, with less success. The pink colouring on Glory spread a little - maybe his tail was damp - but though I got a few tiny drops on Hope I havent managed to spot her in the crowd. One reason for this could be that during the last few days of incubation the female takes over full time and hatches the young. I hope this is what is happening!

So how are my 'secret' doves Nero and Smudge getting along? Well unfortunately, just when Smudge was growing up and entering into an adolescent stage and losing her squab look, she has disappeared. I fear she is dead - somehow I just got that feeling. One day I saw a male after her, pecking her neck, and I think she was too young for that sort of attention, and maybe things didn't go well for her, poor little thing. Here is the last picture I took of her.

Nero is fine, my beautiful black bold boy! I know he is a male as I have seen him displaying male behaviour. Long may he survive and keep visiting me. Here he is with his followers!

And guess what? Columba, my white ringed dove - offspring of my first beloved bonded pair, Pax and Persephone, was spotted on the island at the morning feeding time! I was so pleased to see him again and looking very healthy too. I remembered he came back last year about this time, and checked in my file. I had marked down 'Columba returned 17.3.08' - I blinked and looked twice. It was the very same date - a year later! Columba had again returned on the 17th March - amazing!

Two cute little incidents occured concerning other birds and the doves recently. I happened to look out and see a bluetit perch on the ledge of the nest box. It peeked in, saw Hope on the nest and flew off round to the back of the dovecote. It would be enchanting if a family of bluetits set up home in another section of the cote, but realistically I don't think it will happen. The other thing concerned my robin. I always feed the doves first, and then come back and put some special robin food down for Robs, as I call him - well one day, Mr. Impatient Robs flew over to the island, with the doves, and starting eating the smaller bits of their food with them! He flew into the house the other day, and I caught him by the window and cradled his delicate little body in my hands for a few seconds and touched his head gently before setting him free.

And nothing to do with doves, but when I drove my car up to its parking space just by our river there was the kingfisher right there in front of me - the sapphire of the river, back again this season - thank God.

The End.

Land of Hope and Glory

Sunday 1st March 2008

Since the weather has been milder my lover doves have stepped up their interest in each other and the dovecote. I now have every reason to believe that they might have a nest in it! I can't tell you how happy I am to have doves living in the dovecote again. It means a lot to me as I bought the dovecote and my first doves, Pax and Persephone & John and Irene with the money my mother (and late father) gave me for my wedding in April 2006. John and Irene were named after them, and John was the last surviving dove out of the four and either left, or died, around March 2008. Since then the dovecote has been empty, except for the occasional dove having a peek inside.

I didn't want to name the lover doves at first, but now one, presumably the female, has spent the last few nights in the cote and her mate is in constant attendance, and in and out, during the day, so I truly do think that they have come to stay.

So please let me introduce you to my delightful new neighbours, Hope and Glory.

Hope is the female of course, probably the one on the right.

Already they seem to have real characters. Here they are in the yard outside our garden posing as keepers of the lamp. From the long view they look like little statues!

Here is Glory collecting sticks for the nest from the lawn a few days ago.

Is this stick ok? he thinks
Glory proudly carries a suitable stick. It was very hard to get photos as he was so quick. As soon as he'd picked up a good stick......

He crouched down and flew up immediately with it. This looks likes he's holding the pampas grass but if you look carefully you can see the little stick in his beak.

So the nest is made, Hope is staying every night..... and maybe there are eggs! Please hope for Hope! and Glory, and me that everything will go well this time. I haven't forgotten the two last lot of squabs - the Ugly Dovelings and the other pair of tiny babies that died - and still feel sad about it.

The end

Visit to a Pigeon Loft

Read the blog to find out who is the mystery black dove!


(NB: If you haven't read it, you may want to read my previous blog as this one continues from it)Thurs 26.2.09

Since I blogged I have not seen EagleEye, the crossed bill dove that feeds from my hand. Nor have I seen Goldilocks...... maybe they don't like me blogging about them! I hope EagleEye in particular has not met a sticky end. I miss him, it was wonderful to tame a feral bird to come to my hand. There are even less doves around since the last blog- only 25 in the mornings and maybe 40 at most in the afternoons.

As I said in the previous blog, I had recaptured Belle and set out with her to drive to Bob's on the following afternoon. I was glad he could see me as I would've been reluctant to keep a healthy bird in captivity for more than a day. Belle is a very vocal dove - strong, feisty and doesn't like being cooped up in a cat box! When we really got going though on the A3 towards Aldershot she quietened down - maybe she could tell we were going home, though I don't really know why that would please her as this was the second time she had flown the xxxx miles from Bob's place to mine.

I didn't get too lost on the journey - a miracle for me - and found Bob at home with his family. He kindly offered me tea, but I was impatient to see the doves. I had never seen a pigeon loft before in real life and had been really looking forward to it. Bob's loft is two adjoining sheds at the bottom of the garden, all nicely equipped for the comfort of the doves.

Bob keeps white doves for his wedding and funeral releases http://www.everlastingdoves.co.uk/

He has the white Logan Rocks doves with the homing instinct for the releases, and also keeps the pretty white fantails to have 'on display' in the elaborate decorated white cages at weddings. I was surprised that he also has some black (or very dark) doves too (pigeons really but for the purposes of the blog I call them all doves and I, personally, like all the variations of colours)

The few black doves Bob keeps are for a special purpose. At funeral releases, sometimes, the relatives want to release a black dove to represent the deceased and three white ones to represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The doves are brought to the funeral in a black hamper decorated on the corners with white flowers. The doves are released at the appropriate time and are supposed to soar up together, the black one (the deceased) being taken up to heaven by the white ones (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). I have to say that this idea is not to my taste at all. I wondered how the relatives would feel if, by chance, the black dove flew one way and the three white ones made of in another direction! However, it takes all sorts, and if this type of release comforts the relatives then so be it.

The few black doves Bob has are stunning birds. They look black, or very dark, from a distance but when looked at closely their feathers show many beautiful natural colours including iridescent green and purple.

Inside the sheds were much cleaner than I thought. No doubt a lot of work for Bob - he cleans the main floor every day and the adjoining one every week. Now I saw in real life where the expression 'pigeon holes' comes from. The doves looked so sweet all in their little compartments, some with their mates or their babies (squabs).

Although it wasn't a particularly cold day, Bob had a small heater on in one corner of the floor and several doves were sitting near it, enjoying the warmth. He said that in that extreme cold weather he lost several babies.

Belle didn't seem bothered either way to be back, but Bob did say that if she flies back to my flock again then there is obviously not much point in returning her.

Bob usually keeps his doves in til midday then releases then through a small hatch - this is of course kept open and they can fly in and out as they choose. Just before dusk, he blows the whistle, the doves come in and are fed - which of course makes them keen to come home - and the hatch is shut. Any doves who won't come in have to spend the night on the roof. As I was coming to see the doves, he had kindly kept them in til 2.00 pm so I could see them, but after I'd taken photos, the hatch was opened and one by one the doves flew out.

You wouldn't keep doves, or racing pigeons, if you didnt love them and Bob obviously loves his birds - though he doesnt name them. They fly to his hand for a treat - peanuts! and even perch on his head, and he makes Brr Brr noises to talk to them in their language.

I was especially pleased to see the squabs close up. When my own doves had babies, I only had a few crafty peeks in the dovecote as I didnt want to upset the parents, so it was a real treat for me to see the funny babies in their different stages, although he didn't have any very small ones. The squabs go from egg to near independence in about four weeks, so they have a lot of quick growing to do.

Most people think the babies are ugly, and I suppose they are not cute like fluffy yellow chicks or adorable brown striped ducklings, but they have an ungainly charm of their own. Although the mother dove pecked Bob when he picked up the squab that I photographed in his hands, she didnt appear to really mind, and he soon popped the baby back. I think that baby was on it's own. Mostly two eggs are laid, but I suppose both do not always hatch, or one baby doesn't survive.

The mother dove in this photo is sitting on two squabs about a week old.

Now to my dark secret! I'm telling you bloggers something that I didn't tell my husband as I didn't think he would be too pleased.... but I just couldn't resist! Bob gave me three doves to take home, and obviously as we have been trying to reduce the enormous (100+ birds) flock from the summer I knew he wouldnt take too kindly to me bringing some more back. Bob was needing to find homes for these three as they were the wrong colours for his business.

The first was a white one, with some black feathers and two faint marks on its breast that looked like dirty fingerprints. I called this one Smudge. Smudge is very young, hardly more than a squab and still has that unformed, teenage look with a beak that appears over-sized.

The second one is a very dark one, but has a white patch on his back, so not suitable to represent the deceased in funeral releases I suppose! I've called him Nero (I call him 'him' but I don't know the sex).

The third one was multi-coloured with a white part on its head. Unfortunately he flew away at the first opportunity once I had them at home.

This is the only photo I have of him - with Smudge to the right.

Bob says he always tries to find homes for his unwanted birds and does not just drive off somewhere and release them into the wild, so if you live in Surrey and fancy some birds there's an opportunity for you!

I brought the birds home in the little carrier that I had taken Belle back in. There was plenty of room for three for a half hour drive. Once home, I left the youngest bird, Smudge, in the small box and transferred the two coloured ones into my dog box. Both boxes have newspaper on the bottom, and of course I put in food and water. I then hid the boxes in the shed so my hubbie wouldnt find them!!!

I got up early next morning (husband at work - he works nights) and put the boxes on the garden table. My idea was that the dove would watch the other doves arrive, and get some idea of their surroundings from the safety of the boxes. The doves had other ideas, they were practically kicking the doors down! So I released them, stupidly without taking any photos, most unlike me! They immediately flew up to the roof, where the other doves were arriving.

When the main flock came over to the island to be fed, Smudge, Nero and the un-named one stayed on the roof, and shortly afterwards the un-named one flew away and so far has never returned. He was a beautiful dove but of course a free spirit like all of them. I hope he has found a nice place to live.

I tried throwing food onto the lawn and of course the greedy hordes just flew down for more grub.... but eventually Nero came down and tentatively and politely started to take a few grains. Smudge didn't come down and I was worried, especially as he is so young.

Before dusk the main flock had flown away to wherever they spend the night, and Nero and Smudge were two little lonely black and white figures on the roof. I kept popping out from the kitchen to look at them. My daughter said 'There's nothing you can do Mum, you can't fly up to the roof and bring them down!'. I wished I could. I had put the boxes back on the garden table in the hopes they would come down and I could put them safely away for the night, but of course they didn't.

Eventually about 6pm when I checked they had both left the roof top. I was again up early next morning and actually saw the two of them pop back onto the roof - thank goodness they had found shelter for the night.

Nero quickly got in with the scrum and was soon dashing about picking up food like the main flock. Smudge took longer but eventually worked it out, and is still nervous.

On the second night Nero flew away with the others quite early about 4pm, leaving poor little Smudge on his own. Then at 5pm a white dove appeared by Smudge and after a while they flew off together. I suppose its possible the white one was sent to fetch him? The third night, Smudge was again left alone and no-one came to get him.... but he flew off and maybe made his own way to the roost.

Since then I am happy to say both Smudge and Nero are fine, and my husband still doesn't know!

The end - (you may have to scroll down to get to the comments section)

The snow...... and afterwards

22.2.09

First of all, I want to show some photos of EagleEye - mentioned in my last blog - who is the only dove who comes to my hand for feeding. He has a crossed over bill which is unusual (defect, but doesnt stop him eating) See him on the right of the photo - if you double click the photos should enlarge.

We had extreme hard weather in Surrey, with snow fifteen inches deep in our garden - we measured! We couldn't get out of the front door and my husband had to shovel a path to the gate for us to walk down and my little dog to go out.

There wasn't a dove in sight on the first snowy morning and there was absoulutely no way I could've got to the island to feed them. It was hard enough to plodge through the snow - going over my boots - to get to the big garden table, a few yards away. The snow was piled high but I managed to get it off with my rubber broom (very handy if you haven't got one and brilliant on floors, even carpet - I recommend it!) and put down food and water for the doves there. They turned up late and miserable and were balancing on the wires. A few tried to perch on the roof as normal and just sunk into the snow, so funny bless them! - see photo. They didn't like the new strange feeding routine but of course hunger forced them into it.

I expect many pigeons around the country, and many other birds, perished through cold and being unable to find food. Certainly the dove flock is now smaller than it was and currently I have no more than 40-50 visiting.

I have had quite a few deaths of ringed and unringed doves. Rose, Daisy and Scarlett RIP. I am more used to it now I suppose. Thankfully not all die in my garden so I don't have too much to bear. I realise now that there will always be losses and sparrowhawks! but there will always be doves!

I had an unexpected visitor. A ringed dove with yellow, white and purple rings was coming in daily with the others. I suspected it might be Belle again, but she hadn't had a purple ring. (To read Belle's story go back in the archive to my blog dated 15th Oct. 2008 'Dove returned to grateful owner). I emailed Bob and he confirmed that yes, it was naughty Belle flown away from home again, and leaving her squabs (chicks) behind and missing her (obviously these were fairly grown-up squabs or they wouldnt have been able to manage without her). I said I'd try and recapture her like I did back in October and if I did would return her to him myself so that I could see his doves. Bob keeps white doves for weddings and funeral releases in Surrey. Click for more info http://www.everlastingdoves.co.uk/

Then we got the heavy snow and all the doves were nervous and flighty and there was absolutely no way that I was going to be able to catch Belle. I was just glad to see her at the feeding table and know that she was getting her rations.

The snow eventually melted and we got back to normal feeding on the island again. The lover doves (see previous blog) started to rekindle their interest in the dovecote again.

One day last week I had the kitchen door open and several doves were milling about, close by the step. One very bold dove walked in. My daughter was with me and it made us smile how this dove just calmly walked about the kitchen, pecked at my sweepings - ignoring the porridge oats I threw down for it! - and then walked in and out of the pantry, past the dog's water bowl, under the table and then hopped up the step into the sitting room. We caught her, and ringed her, and named her Goldilocks for coming uninvited into the cottage! and then of course set her free.

We then decided to entice some other doves into the kitchen as Belle was there with them just outside the door. We threw down bread and all unsuspecting Belle and two others walked in.... and we smartly shut the door behind them. Pandomonium broke loose! The doves knew they were trapped and fluttered and flapped round the kitchen, knocking down bottles of washing-up liquid and the ornaments on the window-sill. I quickly caught first one and then the other of the two we didn't want and popped them out of the small pantry window. Then we caught Belle and I put her, with food and water, in the dove box.

I rang Bob and arranged to take her back to him the next day and see his doves - a little adventure for me! And the story of that will be in my next blog which I will do asap.

The end.

New Year and how are the doves?

Thurs 15th January 2009

We have had some very cold weather recently with sub-zero temperatures. The doves are hardy but the icy ground covered in snow means that they can't easily supplement what I give them with little extras of green stuff. In the worst of the weather I have relented and given them a bit more. They don't seem to mind the cold, even having baths and sitting on the snowy lawn to dry off

The flock has now reduced to approx. 50-60 birds. It's rather hard to count them as not all of them appear for each feed. I have seen hawks about - they are using my poor birds

as food in this hard weather.These were ones that got away, and I saw them heal in the days that followed. Others haven't been so lucky.
In previous blogs I was concerned about the huge flock. I keep a very rough 'dove diary' and note that on 4th November I had a morning flock of about 40 and an afternoon one (some of course would be the same birds) of 70-80, so obviously we are down quite a bit. I have been 'working out' the food. I'm finding it difficult to find any reference anywhere - even if dove books - as to how much each individual dove/pigeon eats per day. Some say one thing, others say another. I think its about one and a half ounces - that looks about right. So I am working on the principle of giving about half the feed required for the number of doves I have visiting - they must search elsewhere for the other half! There's a lot of weighing and measuring as the number of doves fall.
I am still seeing most of the doves I ringed in the Summer or Autumn. So, I'm still seeing Sooty (who fell down the chimney, remember?) and these others - Sweetie, Octavius, Octavia, Rose and Daisy. Unfortunately I have realised that Daisy is a male! I'm not seeing Columba any more, or Autumn.
Last night, at dusk when the other doves had flown away, I found a dove on the bridge to the island. It would definitely be fox fodder if I left it - I have seen fox footprints in the snow and the frost, and one morning saw a beautiful big brown fox sitting in the snow. Amazingly enough I had my camera with me, but by the time I had switched it on and ducked behind the hedge, it had loped off. A missed photo opportunity! I got my net to catch the lone dove but at the first swipe I missed and it fluttered up to the metal side of the bridge, but didn't, more likely couldn't fly away. I tried again with my heart in my mouth, because if it slipped and really couldn't fly then it would have fallen in the fast flowing water and been swept away - I would have felt like a murderer! This time the net caught it's wing and I grabbed it and took it back to the cottage. My daughter ringed it, and demanded that she name it.... so we have a pure white dove called Scarlett now. I've put it in the dove box in the shed with food and water for the night. Scarlett may be the dove I called Frosty who had been spending the last 7 or 8 nights on our roof... but he's Scarlett now.
My most exciting news is that a pair of doves have been showing a great interest in the dovecote. They spend quite a bit of time there - one sometimes in the cote and one looking up expectantly at it. Sometimes they go in together. Also I have seen them mating, and so I am very much hoping that they will set up home here, but currently they are flying away at night.





It would be so lovely to have a pair of doves here at night again. The cote looks so empty at the moment. So here's hoping........


I also have a special dove! He is unringed because I havent attempted to ring him, not wishing to frighten him. When I feed the doves on the island in the afternoons, I hold my hand out with feed and he always flies up to it. I call him EagleEye because he is always watching my movements. Although unringed and pure white I can easily recognise him even on the ground as he has a peculiar crossed beak - and a knowing look! Sometimes when he is feeding off my hand I move my fingers so that I can feel his warm feathery body - I love the fact that he trusts me enough to come onto my hand. None of the others do!

The end