The temperatures are rising here in the Sonoran Desert, and I admire wild creatures for how they can survive when it's 120°F (49°F) and the sun is leeching moisture from me almost faster than I can sweat it out. About ten years ago, we had an influx of non-native Eurasian collared-doves, and during one particularly brutal summer, those aliens didn't fare very well. I lost track of how many of their corpses I found out in the yard. Since then, they've interbred with native white-winged doves, and they've become much more heat-tolerant.
White-winged doves are about the most opportunistic birds I've run across. It doesn't matter if the food you put out is something they're not supposed to like or eat, they will eat it anyway, and like big hogs at the trough, they will shoulder any other birds out of the way. They're greedy and messy and I can't say that I'm very fond of them, but they did supply some amusement for me a few summers ago, and I thought I'd share.
As I sat in the deep end of the swimming pool under the shade of trees and umbrella, there were three things I almost always had at hand: my book, my cold drink, and my camera. If I ever forgot anything, it would be the camera (and usually I wound up kicking myself for the oversight). One June, I began having visitors: a straggly batch of juvenile white-winged doves that I called the Gang of Five because they always traveled together.
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| Three of the Gang of Five |
Those young birds would watch me as I sat in the water in the shade, and-- by grannies!-- they wanted to sit in the water, too. They would wait to show up when shade had reached the steps-- the opposite end of the pool from where I sat. They kept trying to use the handrail to soak their tailfeathers, but they kept falling off. One of them even used its beak to shove one of my pool shoes in the water in a show of frustration. (I'll admit right now that I didn't bring my camera out as often as I should because I missed filming that little tantrum.)
I finally took pity on them and bought a blue plastic tub that I filled with water and sat down by the steps into the pool. Sure enough, when the shade moved to those steps, here came the Gang of Five, and they immediately began checking out that tub.
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| Eurasian collared-doves cooling off. |
In no time at all, they were in the tub, sitting in the water and cooling off. At one point, all five of them were crammed in there. Naturally, that was the day I'd forgotten my camera again, but as you can see in the photo, the Eurasian collared-dove and collared/white-winged mix took advantage of the "spa", too.
All this just proves that, if you're in the desert and you fill a tub with water, it won't be long before you have something sitting in it to cool off. Just remember to keep your camera close by!
Great story. You have so many bird experiences and they are so enjoyable to read about. And nice of you to give them their own birdie pool.
ReplyDeleteI love your creativity, Cathy! You really found a way to help those birds. And it's a great solution for you, too, of course, so you don't have to go out in the heat!
ReplyDeleteThat was just a one-summer occurrence, Margot. Since then, we've had wildlife ramps in the pool, and that's saved many a life without either one of us having to make a mad dash. Anyone who has a pool should have at least one of those.
DeleteI remember well when the first Eurasian collard-doves reached us. They made an immediate impact on the dove community in our yard. Many years later, what I see in the yard are mostly invasive White-winged Doves, although some of these may be the result of interbreeding with the collared doves. What I don't see in my yard anymore are my beloved Mourning Doves and the little Inca Doves that I used to enjoy watching. They have been pushed out by the interlopers.
ReplyDeleteWe still have a few mourning doves, although not as many as in the past. We still have quite a few Inca doves, although their numbers have been reduced, too-- but their decline is due to the blasted feral cats that haunt the area.
DeleteGreat story! Interesting how they adapted and bred with another dove breed too.
ReplyDeleteSeveral species of birds have done that.
DeleteMy questopm os even though they now have a birdie pool, won't some birds still end up in for-humans pool anyway, and you and Denis will still have to fish them out?
ReplyDeleteAs I said in my comment to Margot, we haven't had to do that since we put those two wildlife ramps in the pool along the sides.
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