The Abandoned Wives Club

Well it all went wrong yesterday.  My birds didn't come home to roost.  Two of the birds who were on nests deserted them. I found a dead chick in one, about the same age as the two I took to The Haven, but I think it had been dead a while because it looked squashed.  In the other there was a cold egg.  The mothers spent the night sitting on the roof of the house opposite, presumably waiting for their mates to return.  At dusk there was just one poor little girl left sitting resolutely on her nest.  I don't think she had even come down to feed all day.  I think she probably only has eggs because she was the last one to build her nest. 

I spent the day anxiously looking out of the window praying to see a white bird.  I was so upset, I had put so much love into those birds it was horrible to think they had just deserted me the first day.  When it was dark I put the floodlight on and thought they were all back but it was an optical illusion and all the nest boxes were empty.  Except of course the one with the poor lonely little girl but she is round the back so I couldn't see her.

In the morning the two birds were still on the roof opposite.  It's the highest point and I think they were watching for their mates.  I put some food in one of their red dishes on the front lawn hoping they would see it and come down for it but they just sat stubbornly up there.  The poor little mother was still on her nest and was not coming down so I put some seed in her nestbox for her incase she was going to starve rather than get off her eggs.  I had to go out shopping and spent the whole time looking out of the car window to see if I could spot my birds!  I felt totally miserable with them being missing.

When I got home at around lunchtime I was thrilled to see that the two birds off the roof had come home and were feeding on the ground.  What's more the lonely little mother was down with them feeding.  All I could think was thank heavens at least with three of them I still have a little flock.  I named them 'The abandoned Wives Club'

At about 2pm I went outside to hand the phone to Hairy Hubby when he started pointing behind me and grinning.  There were clearly now FOUR birds feeding under the dovecote.  I sneaked round the back to see if the little Mummy was still on her nest and she was!  He told me that two birds had just flown in right over my head!  I was almost jumping for joy.  That made FIVE birds in total.  Where the other two had come from I don't know.  If they wanted to stay out all night they could have had the manners to leave me a note!

So at dusk tonight there are five birds in the dovecote which means that four are still on the missing list.  Pinky and Perky are still doing fine at the Haven.  I can't wait to see them when I go in on Tuesday.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring?  A nervous breakdown maybe???