The rambling rose and Russian vine had made a great thicket on our pagoda so I got out the electric trimmer. Branches fell away and the jumble of twigs was beginning to take a reasonable shape.
The blades skimmed through another mass of branches and left a pigeon on view eyeing me angrily. It shuffled and flew off leaving two eggs in a primitive nest.
Part of the thicket is now neatly trimmed but another part is still too bushy and when I look carefully I can see a pigeon looking reprovingly at me. Sometimes I watch as male and female exchange egg sitting roles.
Yesterday there was a new face peering out of the nest. After what seems to have been about 3 weeks, the egg has hatched. There is another egg there, still intact. Maybe it is sterile or maybe it needs another day or two.
Pigeons can hatch up to 5 clutches of eggs in a year. Usually only two eggs at a time. They take 18 days to hatch but I do not know how long it takes the squabs to fledge.
I can continue to observe this saga from my bedroom window in Hiltingbury.
What a superb window with a view! You’ve created a clear sense of the space where this beautiful story unfolds. Such a delightful scene. Thank you for sharing. Love the twist of the story. Hope you carry on ‘spying’ on the birds and keeping us updated.