Mournful...

Although they aren't my favorite birds, it is hard not to appreciate the beauty of Mourning Doves with their soft palette of colors.  As I was crouched in my hide this afternoon, there were two pairs hanging around including this male who was puffing himself up a bit.  Whether that was designed to impress the lady-dove or to scare a rival, I don't know.  It is difficult to differentiate between the sexes although if you can get a good enough look you will find that the males have a bluish "cap" and a hint of pink on their breasts.  And side by side, the male is larger than the female.  To be honest, most times I can't tell the difference.  

Thank you to everyone working stopped by and left comments, hearts and stars on my 5,000th blip yesterday.  I loved reading all the comments, each reminding me of what a truly special community this is.  As I write this, Jax is sitting almost at the top of the Popular page, right next to HillyBlips' red kite.  Very apropos since Hilly and I have spent many hours sitting right next to each other photographing things over the years.  Counting down the time until we meet up in Brazil this summer for another adventure!

A bit chillier out today and we got some torrential rain last night (which we needed).  While I was in the hide, I had to keep one foot braced against wind gusts - eventually I folded the hide up and put it away lest it take flight.

Tomorrow I am meeting up with a group of birder friends for a walk at the Refuge.  Should be a beautiful day.

Cheers,
Debbi