Dove in the Rock

One thing we’re sorry to leave behind at our house in town is the Carolina Wren. We used to enjoy watching them on our back porch, picking off insects and hopping around curiously. They also give a beautiful tea-kettle tea-kettle tea-kettle song. Hearing the distinct, loud song while indoors was rather like hearing the voice of a familiar friend. Now we miss the tiny, lively guys.

However, we’re comforted by the bird populations out here. The kids have picked up on Poppy’s and my interest in them, and they are learning to tip-toe toward the window instead of gallop when one of us sees a bird. We don’t hear them as well from inside the house, but there are plenty of windows so we can generally get a good view without disturbing them. Sometimes I can get decent pictures if they’re near enough to the house, but I may have to invest in some accessory lenses for my camera if I ever want to get really good shots of them.

Between the house and the bank of the pond we frequently get flocks of chubby meadowlarks, and further out we occasionally see migrating flocks of red-winged blackbirds settle on the banks to forage. There are a several pairs of mourning doves that are generally snuggling in a tree or on the power lines, and one beautiful set of inca doves that like to cuddle together on the ground.

The prize for most annoying goes to our pugilistic cardinal. Poppy says he’s been out here for years, with the same daily routine. He spends hours every morning attacking every window in our home. We assume he’s fighting off the cardinal in the reflection, but in the meantime he’s a fairly reliable alarm clock, starting right at 7:00 every morning.

Yesterday’s discovery was the Eastern Phoebe, a bird we’ve observed for weeks with interest but had a bit of trouble identifying. In the mornings, she likes to sit completely still on the edge of our pool and stare into it. She will sit motionless for several minutes, then dart into the pool and snatch up a cricket. She then returns to her previous spot to consume it. The Eastern Phoebe is among a group of birds called flycatchers, who are identified by this behavior.

I am almost disappointed that we finally identified the Eastern Phoebe and determined that the pretty doves on the ground were Inca doves and not juvenile mourning doves. The mystery of their identities was a fascinating study, and it leaves me eager to photograph and ID more local birds.

Each of the links in the above paragraphs goes to a site that gives identification tips for the species, and in some delightful instances, it also provides mp3 files of the various songs and calls of the birds too!

Posted on January 6th, 2008 by Dove
Filed under: Learning