Trying His Wings

  The lack of winter here on the Bayou was a tad ridiculous but I had no idea just how crazy it was until today.  There are going to be some mighty strange effects of a year of warmth.  Besides the obvious plant related things, such as early blooming and multiple crops, the critters are experiencing a bit of mayhem as well.  This chaotic situation became clear as a bell to me early this afternoon during my hike.  

  While down near the creek, a sudden rustling in the underbrush gave me a start.  Not being able to see just what was causing the ruckus made me wary but curious.  Unwilling to agitate whatever critter was astir, I sank to my knees as to be less intimidating.  I stared at the underbrush not seeing what was causing the commotion.  Something was not too happy with my presence.  I knew that my busy visitor was not threatening since two blue jays were nest-building about thirty feet due north of the underbrush.  Those "alarms" would be alerting everything within two miles of any predator in the area.  They were quiet.  

  After a bit, I finally saw a bit of movement in the thicket.  There, among the brambles, a fledgling Mourning Dove was trying its wings.  The young bird was as curious of me as I was of it.  We made eye contact several times without it attempting to escape.  Both parent doves were within ten feet of the little one.  While they were trying to coax it to be still, the youngster had different ideas.  It wanted to fly and be free!  After a few moments, I heard the stray cat meowing nearby and knowing that this predator would have loved to dine upon the young bird, I decided to move toward the cat and away from the bird.  The cat, being rather shy, scampered up towards the house leaving the little bird in relative safety.  

  Seeing the already fledged bird made me realize just how out of whack the weather has been.  The doves had to nest in mid February to already have a youngster able to take flight.  Goodness!  What is in store for us this summer??