Daisy and Dovie
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DOVIE HAS A DAUGHTER!
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by Bobby Snipes, guest writer
It was in the middle of February and it turned real warm. It felt like Spring.....there was very little wind and the temperature was in the 70’s. It was very unusual for Clovis, and I knew that there was a lot more cold weather coming. But the birds thought it was spring, also. I noticed Dovie and Dudley, the doves who live in my back yard, picking up twigs and building a nest. It was so interesting to watch them...the twigs had to be just right. And as they completed the nest, you could see that the larger twigs were placed first, and then smaller ones as they built the nest up.
Even before the nest was complete, I noticed that Dovie was sitting on the nest. I thought it was a trial run but no, she was already laying her egg. The weather stayed beautiful for about a week and Dovie was in the nest most of the time and then the weather turned bad….cold, 12 degrees at night and 18 degrees high one day, strong north wind and snow around the first of March. I thought to myself that she would not be able to sit on that nest without freezing.
It was amazing to observe….God gave those birds such an strong instinct to care for their un-hatched. It brought tears to my eyes to think that 1,000 babies are aborted each day in America and yet here are birds that would sacrifice their life to protect their baby.
The weather was treacherous and Dovie sat on that nest for hours upon hours all fluffed up and hunkered down. I kept putting out grain but Dovie would not come down for the longest time. When Dovie did come down, Dudley would take his turn to sit on the egg.
After a 6-inch snow, I cleaned a spot to feed Dovie. She finally came down to eat. Well Dudley showed up to eat with her but that did not sit too well. She fluffed her feathers and ran Dudley off and he flew back up to the nest. It was like Dovie was saying “get back up there and do your job….it is your turn to sit”. I looked up at Dudley and smiled thinking “I know the feeling….you will learn to take care of business”.
A few days later it had warmed up and Dovie came down to eat. Dovie was very protective ….she would chase all other birds away from the tree that her nest was in. I wondered if she could see another bird while she was eating. About that time a wood pecker flew into her tree. She flew immediately to the tree and chased that wood pecker across the alley.
Dovie seemed to have a built in thermometer. As the days warmed up, she knew just how long to stay away from her nest. After about two weeks and through all of the frigid weather day and night, Dovie and Dudley were rewarded with a baby dove…. I named Daisy.
After a few days Daisy started peeking out of the nest. After about two weeks Daisy was feathered up and standing on the edge of the nest and flapping her wings. Then she would fly from branch to branch and she did that for about a week…. and then the maiden flight to a telephone line and then the top of our fence.
During all of Daisy’s early flying days, Dovie and Dudley were always close by….patiently watching their offspring and frequently flying to her and feeding her until she could feed herself. Well, Daisy is on her own now, flying with the big girls. She does return occasionally to the top of our fence which seems to be her favorite spot. And Dovie…….well she and Dudley got busy and built the nest a little deeper and yes….they are expecting another baby. Thank goodness, the weather is warmer now.
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Bobby Snipes
For Mil’s
4/27/15
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