Dovey obsessions

My doves are a very consuming pastime.  Every morning I go down to their little enclosure and have a chat with them.  I pretend its so they get used to my voice but really it's because they are the only one who will listen to my ramblings.  I try not to notice that they are in a net and therefore unable to escape.  They appear to listen very attentively and occasionally join in with some coo-ings of their own.  If all conversations were like that my world would be a nicer place!

They are also fascinating to watch.  Hairy Hubby and I are often to be found gazing out of the kitchen window at their antics.  There are three pairs nest building now.  I had a check today, the female birds looked at me most suspiciously and made me feel like a peeping tom!  I have been collecting nesting materials for them and popping it under the net when I feed them.  Doves make very messy nests from sticks and poop.  In fact the nests I have seen are really a poor excuse for a nest, almost like the male brought in some sticks and the female thought "What the hell does he expect me to do with these?  Oh well I will pile them all up in here to make him happy".  I can't tell if any eggs have been laid yet, not without standing on a stool but the last time I did that I fell of and still have the bruises so I will pass on that one.

They now seem to have a routine at roost time.  Everyone has their own place to roost.  Except one poor singleton that is.  He is always the last to try and roost, he sits on the lower perches around the base of the dovecote while all the pairs settle down.  Then you see him psyching himself up to try for the empty roost hole at the front.  The problem he has is that every time he goes up to it the male from the next door hole chases him off.  I have no idea why this bully boy feels the need to defend two roost holes.  He has a mate in the one he roosts in but he just does not want anyone else to move into the other one.  Their performance goes on right till it is dark.  Singleton flies up to roost, trying to time it when Bullyboy is not looking, only to be chased back down to the perch again.  You can see Mrs Bullyboy rolling her eyes and saying "Come back to bed, dear"  I keep telling Singleton to stand up for himself but he is obviously a pacifist because he backs down every time.  I assume that once darkness falls he sneaks into the empty roost hole because if I look out on a moonlit night he isn't on the perch and there is nowhere else he could go.  Unless he shacks up with another single bird when no one is looking.  Or has a threesome with another couple but let's not go there!  I do feel sorry for him though, I suspect that when the net is removed he will be the first one to vanish.