My new next door neighbour

Just before Christmas I noticed an old dove nest in a tree next to my house. On Christmas Day, a collared dove moved in and has (as far as I am aware) not moved since.

I check on her a couple of times a day and she seems perfectly happy. Indeed she appears to have undertaken some renovations to her new property to bring up to the level of comfort she is accustomed to.

At night you can see her silhouette from the street light. When the snow was at its worst, I could only see the tip of her tail feathers but she was there and she was still hanging in. I am yet to see the nest empty and have no idea when she leaves to feed. She is, in short, something of an enigma.

I have grown attached to this peculiar bird and I really do hope to see her actually raise some chicks in the spring.

When the snow is falling and the temperatures plummet at night, perhaps you can spare a thought for this remarkable, if somewhat odd, bird.