I enjoy my backyard. Over the seventeen years we’ve lived here it has slowly evolved into something I’m proud of. I’ll plant something. Watch it grow. And decide it isn’t quite what I had expected, yank it out and start over. Recently I yanked out four shrubs and replaced them with red rhododendrons. Hopefully, they will fill the void the way the others did not. Time will tell.

About three weeks ago I noticed three doves had staked out a claim on the north edge of my patio. That wouldn’t have attracted my attention so much if it hadn’t been the way that they did it.

Dove, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Blue Birds, Mockingbirds, Goldfinch, and an occasional Hawk frequently hop around my yard. But the three doves have been doing something a bit unique.

One has apparently been injured. The other two seem to be his caretakers and bring him food. They take turns keeping him company. My best guess is that they feel safe hiding near the Carolina Jasmine and Trumpet vines growing on the trellis behind my flowers. There is a large cast-aluminum flamingo there for decoration, and I’ll bet they think that thing is their bodyguard.

The other day my wife told me the three birds were standing facing each other and dancing. As they danced their feet were stomping up and down and they slowly turned in circles. She said it was very unusual and wished that I had witnessed it.

Well, yesterday I did. While sitting at the kitchen table I saw the injured dove sitting on the rocks by himself when suddenly the two others flew down beside him. They all turned to face each other and began to hop up and down. Just like my wife said, they all slowly began to move around in a circle while facing each other. I jumped up with my phone to make a video of their little ritual, but I was too late. It was over when they saw me standing by the door. Two flew a couple feet away, while the injured one froze in place and watched me.

Their little dance made me realize there was a lot more to those birds than just creatures that fly around the yard and peck at corn in the nearby fields that have been harvested. They care for each other. They greet each other. And they look after each other when one is hurt and can’t fly away at feeding time with the rest of them.

The injured one seems to be getting stronger. It will move a few feet when Spanky zips out the back door. It’ll hide near the base of the dappled willows where it blends in with the branches, camouflaged from Spanky’s prying eyes, and beyond the limits of his electronic collar.

I wonder how long they’ll stay here in my yard. Winter is fast approaching and I know they will need more shelter than that the yard will provide once the leaves have fallen off.

Until then, I’ll just watch them from my kitchen table and hope to capture the Dance of the Doves on video.

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Rick Algood
October 17, 2019