Rainy Day with Doves

Doves Taking a Shower

Today is a rare steady rainy day here in LA. Two doves, The OG and Husband (see blog post Seasons of Doves), are standing on the fence watching me type this. So the doves don’t mind rain. Their feathers are warm waterproof down jackets. Another dove, must be The Kid, just joined the couple. They are hanging out there as usual - but today are washing themselves in a nice shower.

I have been wanting to write about a special bird that recently landed in our courtyard and perched at the exact same spot where the doves are right now. It’s a good day to do so.

It happened like this…

One morning some doves were making their daily commotion in the courtyard - they are not good with sharing food. Then all of a sudden, the doves flew away with their wing whistle. This happens once in a while with The Gang who aren’t used to me. They get alarmed and leave the scene suddenly. This time, though, one dove stayed behind. She started to eat seeds all by herself. Then after a few seconds another bird swooped in and the dove, with its wing whistle, hastily flew away.

I looked out carefully to see what this commotion was about. The newcomer looked like a dove at a glance but it was definitely bigger, though not as big as a crow. Its movement was quick and sharp. I did a double-take and realized it was a peregrine falcon! After landing where the dove was the falcon jumped onto the ledge, hopped along it, and then flew away.

This courtyard had been attracting urban animals but at this moment it became a full-fledged nature show!

This is like my favorite TV show, Meerkat Manor, a documentary about the lives of meerkats in the Kalahari Desert. Thanks to the drama I see on the screen and through our windows, I am so aware that this world is like a giant restaurant, where everyone is a guest and a meal at the same time, hopefully except for us humans. 

So on this rainy day, I’m just dreaming of a parallel world that exists somewhere in this universe where all creatures don’t have to eat each other. 

A Falcon Who Missed Its Breakfast