These two lovey doveys spent quite a while sat on the imitation wagon wheel preening each other.
It was a very pleasant surprise when this Stock Dove paid a visit. At first it was very nervous and nearly left a couple of times when it spotted me looking through the kitchen window, Once it had joined the waddling Wood Pigeons it concentrated on collecting as much seed as it could find. I was entranced with the way the neck feathers looked as they shimmered different colours in the Winter sunlight. Of course the Starlings had to make their presence felt, if only on the sound track.
Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.
Great to have discovered your blog - and you were very lucky with your Stock Dove visit - I've not seen one as yet in Brittany but like the UK during this cold weather we've had quite a lot of new birds in the garden so far this year... will look forward to following your blog this year... Miranda
ReplyDeleteJohn forgot it was Friday, I always look forward to the video clips and these are as entertaining as ever.
ReplyDeleteThe Collared Doves were so sweet John, very 'lovey dovey', did you have Valentine's day in mind or was it a coincidence? There were a couple in my garden yesterday who did nothing but argue which I find is quite unusual for Collared Doves!
ReplyDeleteGreat to see the footage of the Stock Dove, the more I think about it the more I'm convinced I have seen them in the garden before the one I saw on Big Birdwatch Day. I'm sure I remember admiring the iridescent colour on the neck without realising that I wasn't looking at a Wood Pigeon (note to self: must pay more attention!).
Have a lovely weekend John :)
Lovely video clips, especially the Stock Dove.
ReplyDeleteHello Miranda. Thank you for visiting and your kind comment. You also have lots of birds visiting your garden.
ReplyDeleteHello Adrian. I find that since I retired days all roll into one. No normal weekend to break up each week.
ReplyDeleteHello Jan. It was nice that the Collared Doves 'performed' out in the open where I could observe them though it did look to be a bit painful at times. Pure coincidence on the timing.
ReplyDeleteLike you I have the impression I saw a fleeting glimpse of a Stock Dove about a week ago. I thought it was a Feral Pigeon at the time but now I'm not so sure.
Hello Linda. Thank you. It made a nice change to be able to observe something different for a change.
ReplyDeleteHow romantic! two lovey doves just in time for Valentines! The most romantic thing I found in the garden was two frogs under the carpet on my compost heap!
ReplyDeleteHi again John, like Jan I too though this was a Valentine’s posting with the doves. Now… if it isn’t… I wonder what you have in mind ;-)
ReplyDeleteGreat video footage once again John, both of the preening pair and of your new visitor. The Stock dove did look quite comfortable feeding with the Woodpigeons. Good to see :-)
Thank-you, wishing you a great weekend too :-D
We’re thinking we might take our second nestbox down and add an extra outside base to it. We believe the gaps could put off birds as they let in quite a lot of light and there has to be a draught from it too. Can’t decide though, perhaps a little ventilation will help. What do you think?
Hello Shirl. It was just this week's video captures. Had forgotten about Valentine ;)
ReplyDeleteRe your 2nd nestbox. I had meant to suggest a fix for the slots at the bottom when I first saw the photo of it. When I had one like that I screwed another piece of wood underneath and just left little gaps at the corners for drainage and ventilation.
Hello Matron. Frogs under a carpet eh. Whatever next ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks John, I thought that myself at the time too. Then I considered if I was to review this nestbox then I should leave all as is.
ReplyDeleteThen, I considered the very tiny chicks getting cold(should there be any) or the bird roosting in there pre nest. Your suggestion was excatly what I was thinking. Thanks, I just wanted to run that by someone that has nestboxes too :-D
Oops... guess you're thinking up a Valentines now :-)
I'm glad that you left the lovey-dovey's up for Valentine's Day because that's billing and cooing at its finest :) I've never seen anything quite like it!
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day!