Unlikely Friends: Poppet & Littlewood

[John_D]

Poppet, the Eurasian Collared Dove.

Poppet was found by Jo – who posted on here – one windy day in 2004, the nest apparently having been blown from a tree. The little dove grew up with the family and consequently became quite human-friendly. When Jo and family were going on vacation, I took the dove to Cynthia, where he made himself at home inside. Once he was eating properly by himself, he became an excellent ‘mentor’ for rescued squabbies. It seems that pigeon squabbies form a bond with a more grown-up dove

Most of the rescued doves do not take to captivity too well, inside or in our ‘doviary’ (or release aviary), but Poppet - as Cynthia named him - just loved to be with us. Landing on our heads, with a triumphant dove call, and rooting around in our hair was and is one of his favourite tricks – “You’re MY human!” he calls. When I took a nap stretched out on the bed sometimes, tiny Poppet would make a funny little sound from the closet he perched atop, and fly down to me, pecking gently at my nose and then lying down on my chest while I dozed. Maybe he was ‘protecting’ me!

Today, he is in the main aviary with the pigeons, woodpigeons and another collared dove (who he chases off perches with glee!). When we go outside after dark, Poppet hears us and coo-coos to us in his quiet way – his voice is not as loud as the wild doves who frequent Cynthia’s feeders. In daylight, he loves to perch on us when we are in the aviary, coos to us in a corner to tell us when he wants some preening and affection and behaves in every way like the pet dove he is, far too tame to live ‘out there’. Even so, he has no fear of pigeon big or small, and cheekily steal treats from under their very beaks when we offer them by hand, too agile (most of the time) for any to wingslap or peck at him.

I can tell you, it is not easy to clean up with a dove almost constantly on your head – and frequently a pigeon on your shoulder as well – but it is a constant joy to be so trusted and sought out by this little warm bundle of feathers who thinks of us as his special friends.

Poppet: http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showth...referrerid=560

Littlewood, the Wood Pigeon

Littlewood was handed as a baby to another Jo, by some folks on vacation who found him on the ground last Spring. He was indeed just a baby, and Jo wasn’t sure at first exactly what he was

Like many baby pigeons, the woodie just accepted his ‘foster mother’ without much hesitation, and would sit for hours just snuggled up on Jo, feeling warm and safe. After a couple of weeks, the small woodie was delightful, with his typical very long beak (as long as his head and neck) and his big eyes.

By the second week in June, the little guy was starting to show an interest in seeds – Jo was delighted when he ate one whole seed by himself! Shortly after, Jo and her husband brought woodie down to Cynthia, whereupon he was soon placed into the doviary with Poppet. Poppet, of course, was a good tutor, and was soon getting Littlewood imitating him and pecking for his own food. For a while he needed careful checking and some top-up feeding, but he was now a growing boy. (Well, it is actually not that easy to tell if ‘he’ is a boy or a girl, but it’s ‘he’ until proven otherwise.)

Being raised from a baby by people, even though he is now in the aviary with other pigeons, doves and woodies, Littlewood is really too tame to be called a ‘wild’ bird, though Cynthia fancies that he sometimes looks out at the world with a little yearning. Maybe, maybe not - who knows what goes through a woodie’s head?

He learned well from his tiny companion, Poppet. On occasion, when offered a dish of seed, he would only accept it when he saw Poppet eating from another dish. When I am in the aviary, pigeons and Poppet are always landing on me – but sometimes I feel an extra weight on my head, and I know who that is! He accepts little kisses on his breast feathers, and a little stroking, though the inbuilt ‘woodiness’ is obviously struggling with the human-friendliness, but he does like to be near us. He is fascinated by my spectacles and has managed to pull them off a couple of times, and if I feel something nibbling at my collar from behind, or attacking a top button, it’s a woodie. Heck, he even tries to stick his beak up my nose

He has no trouble with the pigeons – but he lets tiny Poppet bully him mercilessly! When Littlewood gets close to us, or has treats, that little dove will march up and peck at him – and the big woodie will fly off to another perch (but only for a few seconds). On the occasion when Littlewood takes a swipe at Poppet, our agile dove just ducks! Yet, they spend a lot of time perching together, so it’s not all war – there’s some peace in there, too.

Littlewood: http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showth...referrerid=560


Admittedly, it’s a dubious friendship, involving competition for treats and the attention of their humans, but they are a sweet (and comical) duo