Never Too Many Friends!

  It has been said many times that I have more critter friends than people friends.  Also said many times, I am good with this.  Critters seem to be far better along those lines than most people.  That said, I figure you never can  have too many friends so making a new one is always a happy time.  Today's new friend was a young Mourning Dove.
  
  Mark and I had taken our late afternoon stroll around the property and wound up on the pier (as usual).  Earlier, I had caught a nice trout which made me catch the "fishing fever".  With good intentions that never came to fruition, we abandoned the idea and headed back up the board path that leads from the pier to the Little Bayou House.  Along this path, a number of bird feeders dot the way.  Nary a bird could be found until the last feeder.  A solitary dove was scavenging for an evening snack. That sure looked like a small dove.  As we strolled up the path, the little bird never moved.  It just kept pecking at the last bit of seeds left by the other birds.  

  Well, I could not leave well enough alone.  Down on the ground, I plopped!  This little dove looked like it needed a friend so I figured it might as well be me.  While I sat there on the soft grass, the dove eased nearer and nearer to me until I could have reached out and touched it. Since this was a recent nestling, it probably had not developed a fear of humans yet.  Maybe it never would.  Doves are relatively relaxed when it comes to interacting with people.  They will nest as close to the front door as possible and can be coaxed to eat from your hand.  This little one was a prime candidate as a friend. 

  My only fear with the bird being so docile is that the Cooper's Hawk will swoop down to make a meal out of my new friend.  At daybreak, the hawk can be found in the hickory tree as it scopes out a possible target. Lately, a bird has been taken each morning.  It bothered me, at first, but then I came to realize that the hawk had a nest of little ones to feed and it was only doing what comes natural.  I stopped filling the feeders in hopes that the hawk would hunt elsewhere.  It worked for a while but now the predator is on the prowl again.  Be safe, new friend, be safe.