Cedrik the dove

Yesterday it seemed like the doves had given up on their precarious nesting sight, as the bracket ledge was bare and all the nest material was once again scattered on the floor. But, 05:30 this morning, I saw Cedrik waddling around the pavement at the place where I had relocated the twigs two days ago.

I went back upstairs to retrieve my camera and learning from my last session, a cushion. I selected my vantage point and then moved the sticks to a place that suited me. I waited twenty minutes but was then rewarded with three nest runs of which this was the best.

Back in the house, I followed Cedrik's progress and saw that he was not feeding the original nest site but had found another, so maybe not as dumb as we thought.

I am wondering if the poor nest building skills of the dove is down to domestication as this bird has been living amongst humans for probably thousands of years. Other examples would be the dog that turns three times before lying down to sleep or the cat that digs a hole, craps by the side and then fills the hole in. It is like instinct tells it what to do but it doesn't understand why and so gets it all wrong.

Dave