‘Love birds’ stick to their bubble
NATURE has some real stars and one of the most beautiful of all those celebrities is the collared dove.
The collared dove is not like the vast majority of our celebs, it’s not showy and it sticks with the same partner throughout its life.
It is the type of bird that would stick to social distancing rules in a bubble with its mate and chicks.
Every day a pair of collared doves arrives at our bird table, picking up the pieces after an invasion of starlings, sparrows and blackbirds.
These graceful birds flutter onto the wall and then hop onto the bird buffet, unlike their tubby cousins, the wood pigeons, which land with a great thud.
It is wonderful watching them interact, so obviously head over heels in love.
Do birds have heels? Their movement is like watching a romantic moment from Strictly –
“more bobbing up and down, darling.”
You will have heard collared doves in parks and gardens with their “hoo hoooo-hoo” call, before you actually see them.
This was a soundtrack to my childhood as my dad used to breed collared doves in a huge aviary at the bottom of our garden.
Many escaped and their relatives are probably a large part of the Salford doves that are flapping around now.
I always think of my dad when I see or hear them, he was devoted to them and when he decided to demolish his aviary you could tell something important had slipped out of his life.
I suppose he was harking back to parents and grandparents who had their own pigeon lofts.
Collared doves are known as “love birds” because males and females were always seen together but they are pretty good in the “loooving” department, having bred so well since the 1950s.
It was in the 1950s when they were first recorded in the UK, having flown over from India via western Asia and Europe.
They also made it across to America, but that was nothing to do with my father.
It is now one of most common garden birds and, in winter, you may see small flocks feeding on seeds and grain in local fields.
I think most people will know what a collared dove looks like – it is buff-coloured with darker grey wingtips, a black half-collar and paler patches at the shoulders and at the end of the tail.
Its collar does make it look a bit like a member of the clergy, so don’t swear if their call wakes you up on a Sunday morning. Doves and other birds will be making more regular visits to your bird table as spring arrives, they need to feed up for their young coming along and then feed those fledglings when they have arrived.
So keep your bird tables well stocked with different seeds, fruit and worms and look out for all the wonderful birds that come to visit.