Tuesday 24 April 2007

Rainy Tuesdays too

All my plans went a bit wrong for today, so instead ended up doing very little again. I did get the vacuum cleaner out, but that's about as far as my cleaning goes these days. I am desperately wanting to do other things around the place but in limbo because until I know what my new neighbour will be like and what the effects of the wind farm are regarding noise, I am not going to spend any money on this place in case I end up having to relocate. Well that's a good enough excuse for being bone idle I guess.

So today, I was sitting here at lunchtime when my arch-enemy The Sparrowhawk made another fruitless swoop, and ended up perching and preening on the fence post outside, about 15 feet away. I grabbed the camera and took several shots through the glass, but it seemed completely disinterested in me, so I ended up opening the window and took some more. He was a bit windswept and dishevelled. Eventually I saw that it had spotted something and was about to swoop, so I yelled, hoping that I would have alerted whatever the poor intended recipient as well as scaring the shit out of the hawk. I ran outside and found to my surprise a beautiful white dove, he's big, he's tame (ish) and he's now a worry. Has been hanging around all afternoon, he's fed and watered and I hope he goes on his way, because I can't bear the thought of something getting him which will surely happen sooner or later. I would capture him if I could and try and find out where he came from. He's much bigger than the pair of doves I just rehomed, bigger than Collared Doves, about the size of a Wood Pigeon, so maybe, just maybe, too big for the Hawk, fingers crossed anyway. The dove seems very tired, and was very hungry, so maybe has come a distance. I once had a pair like this, we kept them in as advised when we first got them, so that they know where they live. The day we let them out, one flew off and never came back. So ended up buying some fantails to keep the one that did stay company. Sadly these are no match for the sparrowhawk, and after one had killed three of them, could take no more and we rehomed all of them.

Yesterday I was chuffed to have a little pair of Siskins back for the first time in weeks. Today I am gutted, because the little male is all fluffed up, seeds sticking to his bill and looks like he has the dreaded illness, trichomonias. When is this bloody thing going to die out here, it has been hanging around for months now, I am still finding or seeing sick chaffinches at least one a week. So fed up.

At least the rain stopped about 3.30 and I managed to take Emma round the park.

The saddest thing today though was having to choose a condolences card to send to the family of a dear friend who tragically died last Friday. I never knew it could be so hard to pick a card. I read the words on about 10, and then couldn't even see properly. Felt a fool standing in a shop with tears streaming down my face, luckily nobody else in there and I was out of sight of the till. She was a good friend, and although had lots of her own problems, was always ready to offer help and advice and a shoulder to me and others. She was generous, and kind and loved her animals, especially the hedgehogs, and her garden and I shall miss her like hell.








6 comments:

Janine said...

Thats a lovely dove. I have a big white pigeon hanging around, I guess its a racing bird, its got a band with the number 8 on it. Nice photos of sparrowhawk too. Did you every try adding the chlorhexidine to the birdbath/drinking water? That works well with pigeons/doves in a canker outbreak, maybe may help the finches?

Jan said...

Hi J, I bought lots of sachets of a product here for canker, and have been regularly putting it in the drinking water. Trouble is when it rains, which is quite often, it gets diluted so much, and also there's a stream within a 100 yards and birds probably drink out of that more. They seem to choose to drink out of puddles more than the supplied drinkers too. No sign of the dove this morning. Hope he's gone home.

oldcrow61 said...

Wonderful pictures Jan. The hawk is a beauty.

Anonymous said...

The white dove belongs to someone Jan, and may have lost its way, they sometimes hire them to weddings, and the bride lets them go, and they fly home, but this one may be lost, it will be used to being fed, and won t live long if its not fed.
Sad about your sick birds.Pauline.

Jan said...

The dove was back just now when I went up to put some more seed out on the table top feeder and the ground. I spoke to him and suddenly the sparrowhawk went whooshing out of the hollybush behind him, near frit the life out of both of us. I guess it had been sitting in there hiding hoping to get a smaller bird, so I guess it's realised Mr Dove is too big, hopefully. Anyhow the hawk went one way and the dove went the other way with some collared doves, seems to be sticking with them. Glad you can post again Pauline. :)

nicola said...

great photos jan, that camera of yours is great