Prayer of the Dove

This morning at By Sun and Candelight, I posted a picture of and poem about a tiny butterfly we just identified ... so while I continue to straddle the nature blog fence, I will post a nature photo here as well ...

At right is the common and somewhat underappreciated Mourning Dove. We have quite a flock of them that visit the ground under our feeders in the early mornings and often right around supper. Sometimes we'll see several of them high up in the pine trees out back, huddled together, heads tucked under wings, catching a quick nap. I read this interesting piece of information in The Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible about Mourning Dove behavior:

"Doves may look calm and relaxed when feeding, but they can take off like a rocket should they become alarmed ~ which is frequently. The birds seem to be particularly quick to react to any danger, real or imagined. When a group of doves is feeding, watch to see how birds take turns acting as sentry. Without a sound, they pass the duty from one to another, so that the majority of the group can eat greedily while the appointed bird keeps watch."

Well, I guess teamwork works! I can't tell you how every click of my camera caused feathers to ruffle and how often the doves would disperse. Finally we got the one clear picture above.

We love to hear their gentle cooing from the trees, or sometimes the telephone wires out front. And to give the Dove his due, here is a poem of his own, another gem from The Prayers of the Ark:

The Prayer of the Dove

The Ark awaits,

Lord,

the Ark waits on Your will,

and the sign of Your peace.

I am the dove,

simple

as the sweetness that comes from You.

The Ark waits,

Lord;

it has endured.

Let me carry it

a sprig of hope and joy,

and put, at the heart of its forsakeness,

this, in which Your love clothes me,

Grace immaculate.

Amen

Comments

[Amy]

What a lovely poem. I'll have to watch our mourning doves more closely!

[Theresa]

That is fascinating about the sentry duty behavior. Thanks!

[Alice R]

HEY! We saw one today and after reading your blog I knew what I was looking at! I was yelling "it's a dove!" Everyone was very impressed with my knowledge (hee hee). I clicked on your link and the sound the bird makes...we have a lot of that noise all night. I had no idea what kind of bird made that noise. Thanks for the great post!

[Dawn]

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

Alice, I am positively giddy I helped you i.d. a dove in your yard! Don't you just love that sound? :)

[Alice R]

I should add that we also knew "that yellow bird" was a goldfinch because I saw that on your blog too. We just moved here and have forest behind us so we are having fun finding out who is who in our backyard. We found an ENORMOUS nest in a pine tree...I'm waiting to see if you post what that is! Have a blessed day!
Alice

[Dawn]

Alice wrote:

"We found an ENORMOUS nest in a pine tree...I'm waiting to see if you post what that is!"

LOL, Alice! Well, if it's *really* big, it *could* be a squirrel's drey (see my post "More Than You Need to Know About Squirrel Dreys") ... :)

It's a blessing to live near woods as you end up seeing a lot more than you would in an average yard (that's been our experience anyway).

I'm so glad you are enjoying my blog. :)

[Alice R]

You guys have been such an inspiration with your blogs that I got a Typepad account (which is much easier than Homeschool Blogger). I have NO idea what I'm doing but you can now see who is posting comments about birds. (smile)