Of the two mourning doves that I’ve seen hanging around our yard, one of them is amusingly fat. I keep thinking maybe it’s pregnant with eggs, but I have no clue. I’m not sure this picture really does justice to just how rotund the bird is, but I tried.

Btw, why are doves doves and pigeons pigeons? They’re essentially the same, right? I tried to Google it, and all I could come up with was that doves are generally smaller. Whatever.

Not that proof is actually required or anything. It’s just cute.
Avocados are too big for squirrels to carry away, but they “roll” them around the yard a lot, from one spot to another…usually close to the fences. So we like to move them around just to mess with the squirrel’s heads. Hahaha.

Squirrels, a mourning dove and other small birds hanging out around the birdseed dish together. Pretty soon I’ll be able to sit outside, whistle a happy tune, and make like Snow White w/the forest animals.

At first it was a few red-headed songbirds. Then it was a few more. Then it was a few brown chickadees/sparrows (whatever…). Then it was a few more. Currently, there’s about 15-20 little songbirds that come flocking down out of the trees hoping for a full dish of birdseed. I fill the dish and it’s empty two days later. They’re still shy and won’t come down if we’re sitting outside, so I have to take pictures through the sliding glass door, as usual.

It’s pretty cool having so many birds flying around and perching between the trees in the yard…but the downside is that certain spots are becoming…well…bird-toilets. Hahah.

One morning I looked out the sliding glass door and the neighbors cat was sitting on the fence, staring up at the big tree. A black squirrel jumped down from some very high branches in the tree and started to come down the trunk. The cat, understandably, was excited by this. The squirrel, also understandably, became disconcerted at the sight of the cat, halted, and ran back up the trunk. But only so far. Then it turned around and started a stare-off with the feline who dared to be in his way.

I was only able to shoot through the glass door/screen, for fear the sound of the door opening would scare them both away, so the pics are kinda fuzzy. It was hilarious to watch, trust me.

If your birdseed has sunflower seeds (or anything similar), the squirrel’s will come down out of the trees to eat it.
Even if you have a separate dish of peanuts right next to the birdseed dish. Because, you see, the squirrel’s like to “bury” the peanuts in the lawn, for future nibbling, instead.