Rain returned to the Willamette Valley today, and I think it
is a good thing for both man and bird. We
have had an unusually long dry spell. I took a brief break this afternoon from
un-packing to sit at the window and watch the birds in the rain. This Mourning Dove was sitting stoically all
alone on the fence in the pouring rain.
Then all of a sudden I noticed this strange behavior of lifting up its
wing. It repeated this several times,
then reversed sides and repeated the same exercise with the opposite wing. This was followed by a vigorous shake and
then more wing lifts. I’m convinced it
was taking advantage of the rain for a shower.
I’ve been aware that rain is important to humans; it is after all what
makes Oregon green. It fills our streams and lakes and cleans out the pollutants
in the air. But I had never considered
that rain is something that birds might take advantage of and even enjoy.
Mmm..... nothing like a fresh clean shower!
ReplyDeleteThat's right. Gets rid of all the dust and grime from having to eat on the ground.
ReplyDeleteWe keep our bird bath fresh from late Spring through early Fall. Other than those times, we figure there are more than enough puddles alongside roads where they can get their bath. I agree, they need to settle the dust that they get from the time they spend digging and what-not on the ground. Keep it up, Jim!
ReplyDelete