Dove Love

In the time that I have been at the Center so far, I have come across a lot of different times of birds. I've seen lots of species, lots of ages, lots of injuries... despite all of it though, I try not to play favorites. Since I started, however, I've grown a bit of a soft spot for doves and pigeons.

As I've stated before, I was no expert on birds before and my studies have always focused on the big, charismatic animals. However, ever since my first encounter with a dove hatchling, I've just developed a strong fondness for them. In fact, I seriously considered adopting an adult mourning dove that a friend of my supervisor's was trying to find a home for. In fact, if I had the stability of knowing where I will be working and living in the next few months, I would have taken him in a heartbeat.

Several doves have come in since I started this internship, but today, the smallest one I've ever seen came in. Apparently, he was just left on the Center director's front steps and she quickly brought him in. He was cold when he came in and very hungry. When a young bird comes in, however, no matter how hungry it may be, it is important that the baby is warm before it is fed. It may seem strange that we'd delay feeding a hungry bird until it was warm and cozy. However, when a bird is cold, its digestive system shuts down and all metabolic processes are directed toward maintaining body temperature. For this reason, feeding a cold baby would only result in bloating and indigestion.

Anyhow, here is is. I've been trying not to pay any special attention or play favorites with the birds and I do love each and every one of them... but just look at this little fellow. How can I resist?