AROUND THE BLUHMIN’ TOWN

By

Judy Bluhm

Springtime. The beautiful season of birds building nests. In odd places. My uninvited houseguests for several years have come back with their usual flair. Unannounced, Wilma and Fred have arrived. I’m not too thrilled, but at least they’ve switched bedrooms. Oh, I should mention that Wilma and Fred are two fat doves that have been nesting at my house for the past five years. Now they’ve relocated to the back patio and live in the only fake tree (a huge potted ficus) in sight. With nine mature trees on my property and dozens of bushes, what compels these two bird-brains to build a nest in an artificial bush?

My late husband, Doug, and I waged a battle one year to get Wilma and Fred out of our garage. They took a liking to the little garage-opener box that hangs by the ceiling and sat directly over Doug’s Harley. Dove poop on a Harley is a fowl situation. We did everything within reason to chase Fred and Wilma away, which included placing foil on the box, draping a rubber snake over it and keeping the garage door closed most of the time. They did get the message. No nest was built.

Back to the patio situation, doves fight back! They have dive-bombed my dog, Teddy, until he has been reluctant to walk outside! They swoop down like two F-15s at him every time the patio door opens. Not to be outsmarted by a couple of doves, I bought one of those scary plastic owls with big eyes that is a motion detector and hoots loudly at the slightest movement. I placed that huge owl in the ficus, knowing that this hooting monster with glaring red eyes and a moving head would send Wilma and Fred packing.

No, once again the doves have shown their tenacity. They were afraid for a few hours but quickly overcame their fear of owls. I eventually got sick of listening to hooting all day and had to silence the owl. Now the two doves are back in the ficus, nesting happily next to the owl. Like one big, dysfunctional family, these two doves and their plastic friend have made strange bedfellows.

Doves love to build nests in annoying places, like under solar panels, on top of air conditioners, and in artificial plants. My neighbor has a dove nest in her fake flower wreath that hangs on her front door. These birds are incredibly fast and have been clocked flying at over 55mph, so be careful if one is swooping towards you! They are also known to be very lovely-dovey and can have up to six broods a year.

Who can blame the doves for wanting a little bit of protection? It’s a wild world out there and birds want a safe place to call home. I was going to move (or dismantle) the nest but looked closely and saw two small eggs. Guess we will all be sharing the patio for a while.

Chasing doves away? Good luck. Just trying can make you coo-coo.

Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local realtor. Contact Judy at [email protected] or visit www.aroundthebluhmintown.com.