Thursday, June 04, 2009

More 'Dove Story'....

Today's post is a video grouping that shows the Dove's progress from near the beginning to the early days of the chicks. While one parent is very accepting of the human intruders....... .......the other is far less trusting!! Finally we get a chance to get a better look at the youngsters. Sadly, Mother Nature has a rather decisive way of ensuring the 'survival of the fittest.' In the case of many bird species the first hatched chick gets all the food. The larger chick had a good two day head start on the smaller one, an almost insurmountable difference in size and strength when competing for food. As Linda puts it, perhaps the second chick is a 'spare' in the event the first one dies. Either way, since Doves of this type mate for life as a rule, if each pair produced two surviving offspring every year, the population would soon exceed the area's ability to feed them all. Nature uses the 'survival of the fittest' method to control the population. Crude, but extremely effective. Before too long, the smaller chick succumbs to hunger and general weakness as the larger steadily gains strength. In a day or two, after sorting through the remaining images and videos, I'll post the final chapter of this saga of the diminutive but hardy feathered family. Until then, be well and take care.

5 comments:

Kay said...

I know... I know it's nature's way but it's so very sad, too.

George said...

Thanks again for posting this story Mike. Yesterday I was checking some parts in the yard & an adult dove landed above my head. It seemed very tame & perched on the cross bars just as it did when it flew off the nest. Was it the mother of the chick? I think so, but who knows.

Muhd Imran said...

I know it's nature ways of coping, but I just cannot help but meddle in its grand scheme of things.

I will help that little chick survive by feeding it while the parents can feed the fittest one. If it's too much of a competition, then I'll take the weakest one away to care for it myself.

Not sure if an extra one survives will cause any big impact on nature's cycle... that is probably why I don't encounter such wonders at my doorstep.

Thanks again especially for the video. The patting on the head is precious footage!

tweetey30 said...

Its sad to think about that. I love watching birds and the ducks and such we have here. You see the chicks and ducklings and wonder how they are all so healthy looking.

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