The cold, wet weather has returned after the briefest of pauses – there is a warning for strong winds this weekend.
In a lull in the breezes yesterday, I was putting out the seed on the lawn and was climbing the steps, when Mother brought the phone out to me. A ring dove had flown down almost before I reached the level of the terrace and as I stood still, speaking quietly on the phone, another bird appeared and another and then two more. They weren’t coming from the same direction, or didn’t seem to be, and usually more than four ring doves means a bad tempered spat at some point, but this time the birds kept coming, six, seven, eight – each landing peacefully and finding their place on the lawn amidst the swirl of moving birds – finally nine pearly doves were busily scavenging through the grass.
The phonecall ended and I had to move. I tried to be quiet and move slowly, but there was an eruption of white feathers and the birds scattered into the freshening breeze.
thekitchensinkbirdwatcher 