SHUDDERING DOVE

Saturday, July 27, I was mending a leaf blower bag near the front of the garage. I was in the process of finishing up and was standing in the open doorway when a Turtle dove flew down to the asphalt and began some strange behavior. The dove spread its wings and began flapping them, the body shuddering and walking in short circles. Several times it put its head under one of the wings as if trying to rid itself of something. Several times it stopped only to resume this strange behavior. It was as if it was having a seizure or being stung by a yellowjacket or totally unable to fly, which I knew was not true since I had seen it fly down to the asphalt. Then it stopped again and acted perfectly normal and then again resumed the odd behavior.

Getting bored with this strange sight I went around the corner to put something in the trashcan there and discovered a neighbor’s cat, which immediately turned and ran towards the street. The dove’s behavior immediately returned to normal and the puzzle of the behavior was solved. I had never before observed doves acting in such a manner but had watched killdeer, avocets and stilts acting as if wounded or disabled when one wandered too close to their nest or young. I did not see where the fledgling was but I suspect that it was up in the pyracantha bush. One more odd fact to add to the memory bank I call my mind.

December, 2002
For the past few weeks I have heard occasionally a soft ‘burrrrr’ coming from somewhere near. I was sure it was a bird of some sort but since I did not have my binoculars with me it remained a mystery. This has puzzled me but not enough to go in search of the source of the sound. Last week, between storms, Mary and I went for a walk in the SLAC corridor that is part of Jasper Ridge. On the way back I spotted a thrush-like bird in the top of a tree. I assumed it was a robin but then I heard that soft ‘burrrr’ and brought the binoculars up to my eyes. There before me was a Varied Thrush and as I looked it again raised its head and issued the soft ‘burrrr’. Mystery solved.

Posted on February 10, 2011 06:01 PM by bob-dodge