Saturday, May 16, 2015

YOU'RE NOT WELCOME!

We had an unwelcome pair of visitors this week.


Now let me be clear. We put out the birdbath and keep it filled with (relatively) fresh water. Every one is welcome to use it.


Even mourning doves. One of those coo-coo-coo birds was spending an inordinate amount of time at it the other day.


And that was fine. I enjoyed watching him even though their incessant call drives me somewhat crazy after awhile.


But it was when he began building a nest in the Redbud tree directly above the bird bath that I had to intervene.

It was fascinating to watch. A female was perched on a branch and the male was going to the ground, picking up small twigs and then building the nest literally around his mate while she sat docilely.

Now she may have been instructing him where to put the twigs and how she wanted them knitted together but it didn't appear like that to me.

When I told SWMBO what was going on she told me to chase them away. We did not, she said, want a couple of monotonous and noisy doves nesting that close to the house and we definitely did not want them perched directly above the bird bath. Fouling the water, shall we say.

So I chased them away and pulled down the beginnings of their nest. After my rude act of unfriendliness, they flew to someone else's tree and peace, of a sorts, was restored to Mr. Catalyst's Neighborhood.

Though I feel a tad guilty.

8 comments:

  1. I'm thinking that was terribly wrong of you, I get it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Huh. Those Doves......do you know that with a dollop of butter and some herbs a lot can be done with a dove.

    A couple of ways to look at the nest-eradication issue....if SWIMBO is ordering it, the Nuremberg trials showed that's not a good defense. The other is the 'protect your castle' doctrine some states have been aspiring to.....

    ReplyDelete
  3. They were doves and you were the destroyer, or shall we say a Hawk?!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Did this pair ask you for lodging and drink in any way? No. So don't feel guilty.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We had doves nesting in the chimney (or somewhere near it) at the apartment we used to live in. Didn't bother me TOO much, but one time my mom & dad were visiting & they had a hard time getting any sleep with all that cooing going on. What I'm saying is, my mother would have totally agreed with your action :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. So you should feel guilty. A dove is the bird Noah chose to send forth to find land and it came back with an olive branch, if I remember correctly. (it has been a while). Maybe the dove brought some wood so Noah could grill some.... pigeons?
    Re Grilling. It has always been overrated. However, it is the only form of cooking women traditionally allow men to do and I say it is because men are so messy in the kitchen... they're not stupid.

    ReplyDelete