Wild thing...

Early last week, when we went through to the nearby town for Mike's birthday, as we were leaving after the party our daughter had a request.

Could we please adopt another feathered friend - a Cape Turtle Dove.

Only that morning she was working in the kitchen when she heard a noise and turned round.  There, walking on the floor, was this little dove.  As it was tame it was obviously someone's pet.  She shooed it outside, but it just came in again.  

This tame little creature wouldn't last long there as our daughter has three boisterous dogs and a cat.

So, with Mike's help she had placed it for safekeeping in their garden shed until Wayne came home that evening.  But she was at her wits end as to what they were going to do with it.

So, we agreed - although I was reluctant...

Here - I have to stay here...?

The little thing is so cute.  As soon as we got it home I placed it near the duck enclosure (birds of a feather, etc LOL)

Okey-dokey - I'll start by having a munch...

But, it wasn't happy there.  It had a quick munch of duck food (crushed corn), and a long slurp of water, and then flew up onto a nearby rain water tank.

It stayed there overnight - I was worried that the owl that frequents our fieldmouse-laden property would go for it that night.

The next morning it was still on the tank.  So I served it breakfast in bed. 

During the course of the day we checked on it and it was nowhere to be seen.

Then we heard an "Ooooo" from the backyard area.  (It makes a deep "Ooooo" sound when you're nearby).

Can you spot it?  Look on the far left handlebar of
the left quaddie
(btw, the numberplate does not make the quaddie
road legal - it was juts me having a bit of fun with
an old numberplate)

On further investigation we spied it sitting on the handlebars of my quadbike - in the shade.  Clever bird :)

Hmmmm, not too shabby.  Iguess it'll have to do

It seems to have taken up residence there, so I have secured a small bowl of water and one of duck food against the strong south easterly wind, and have provided it with a bed (a cardboard box filled with hay and weighed down with bricks) - I have no idea how it was housed previously, and I don't want to make it feel unwelcome...

I reckon that it is used to having easy access to it's owners house though...

... as it even waddled into our lounge from the front patio last night.  RMan and I were busy at the dining room table, Scallywag was sleeping on the floor, and all we heard was this close - very close - "Oooo".  (I had to distract Scallywag with skins of the cooked broadbeans I was shelling whilst RMan picked it up and took it back outside - I don't do bird poo in my house LOL)

So tame it happily goes to RMan's hand,
and then up his arm, and onto his shoulder,
finally settling on top if his head!

But, it's presence has been gnawing at me.  This little turtle dove is someones pet. Yes, it is illegal here to catch and cage wild birds, but someone has - maybe they hand reared it?  And they are probably missing / worried about their pet. So, last Friday, when we went to town for our weekly groceries, I asked Mike, my grandson, to visit all their neighbours and find out if they are missing their pet.  Although it is able to fly, it doesn't fly far, so logically, it must have come from a neighbours property...

Also, I have placed notices on the boards at the local supermarkets to advise that I have a "bird" - they must identify what it is before I hand it over to just anyone LOL

I hope it gets reunited with it's owners - we must be a strange set of people and circumstances that it now has to adapt to...