COLLARED DOVES

[Willpar]

Nice one butterfly. Don't get them myself even though they are in the general area.

[Butterfly]

I am pleased to say that I have a couple of young, not long ago fledged doves again . This is one of them

[Willpar]

Nice to have butterfly. Not had them in my garden. But they eat a lot.

[Jacksparrow]

That one looks very young. It is a little while since I had one that young although I have adult birds every day.

[Butterfly]

Nice to have butterfly. Not had them in my garden. But they eat a lot.

They do have healthy appetite , but I wouldn't say they eat more than woodies, or pigeons, or even starlings

That one looks very young. It is a little while since I had one that young although I have adult birds every day.

It does look very young, its feathers are still fluffy baby feathers, and it doesn't have its collar at all, such a sweet thing . The adult pair are the regular visitors to my feeders, I am guessing these are their offspring.

[Butterfly]

Few days ago, I was really surprised to see a flock of doves in my garden , 7 of them to be exact! I've never seen so many at the same time. I think at least 4 are this year's fledglings. They still come every day, and what's most unusual, at the same time.
I managed to take a picture of 5 of them together



There was another one on the ground tray as well but I couldn't put her/him in the frame. So unusual

[Willpar]

Very nice butterfly. Never get them in my garden. They are in the area but don`t come here.

[Jacksparrow]

I have a feeling Collared Doves like to keep in family groups as much as possible. I seldom get a single one but get three together nearly all the time. I'm getting fewer now than 5 years ago but according to the BTO that is the case across the UK.

[Butterfly]

I have a feeling Collared Doves like to keep in family groups as much as possible. I seldom get a single one but get three together nearly all the time. I'm getting fewer now than 5 years ago but according to the BTO that is the case across the UK.

Oh I thought they like keeping in pairs and only stay in a group when their young fledge, unlike pigeons. I was wrong, clearly

[Jacksparrow]

I had another mystery today following on from the Hedgehog skull but this time it was a Collared Dove. Sometime between 9.30 and 10 o'clock this morning I noticed there were a lot of Dove feathers around the garden where previously there had been none. However there was no sign of a dead bird. My immediate thought was that a Sprawk had struck and carried off it's victim. The female is powerful enough to do that. I held that belief until about 4 o'clock when I went to the recycling bin and happened to look down into a garden trug I keep undercover close by. Lying inside was the dead body of the dove It bore the signs of a window strike but that didn't explain all the feathers about 5 yards away nor were there any of the tell tale signs on our windows. I have given it a great deal of thought but so far I have not come up with a scenario which would produce the outcome.