What Have We Done?

[ Left to right, top to bottom ] 1. Lovey the Dovey, the Feral Rock Pigeon rescued by The Driver family; 2. Flappy, Lovey's "partner" (note the white markings on the wingtips); 3. a Mourning Dove; 4. Mr. Cardinal (not shown, also freeloading: Mrs. Cardinal); 5. a Blue Jay (agitated and possibly intoxicated); 6. a frog / toad (because it was there); 7. Valentino (center) with Lovey (left) and Flappy. Valentino, who has made one known visit, was named for his / her long, slender neck. The Driver missed the reference. Not shown: 3,600 sparrows. [ Click image to enlarge. ]

Located in Mission, Texas, the World Birding Center represents the epicenter of one of the most significant convergences of migratory birds on Earth. Throughout the year, species from north and south of the Equator travel thousands of miles to the Lower Rio Grande Valley to escape their respective winters. Depending on the season, visitors can see rare South American tropical birds, along with hawks, kites, grebes, kingfishers, pelicans or any of 500 other varieties.

The world's second most significant convergence of birds might very well be located just a few hundred miles northeast of Mission — in The Driver's courtyard.

Readers of this blog may recall one Lovey the Dovey — a Feral Rock Pigeon whose rescue, rehabilitation and subsequent leaving (without so much as a thank you, we might add) were recorded here beginning May 23. Soon, Lovey was joined by Flappy, a black Feral Rock Pigeon with distinctive white markings on its wing tips. The Driver promised video of Lovey and Flappy fighting for food. But The Driver's version of iMovie conked out — and he's been kinda busy.

In any event, Mrs. Driver started leaving out food and water out each day for Lovey and Flappy. The pair started appearing with some regularity — at around 4:00PM just about every day, to be exact. If no food was present, they would sit patiently on the roof or the cedar trellis until someone inside got his or her act together and presented them with a small dish of birdseed.

Soon, The Driver family got into the habit of keeping the dish full all the time. Especially before 4:00PM.

Then, something started to happen.

Apparently, Lovey and Flappy had no problems letting other birds in the neighborhood know about an abundance of free birdseed. And by "other birds," The Driver means, "every other bird within a three-mile radius."

First came the sparrows. At any given time, there might be as many as ten of them. Scavengers.

Soon, we sighted a mourning dove. Or three. Or maybe more. Hard to say. At the time of this posting, The Driver witnessed three mourning doves at once sitting on top of the courtyard wall. Mrs. Driver has called one of these "Grey" and another "Cocoa." Then, according to Mrs. Driver, she ran out of neutral color names.

Throughout the day, the sparrows' constant feeding is interrupted by a handful of blue jays. They're aggressive. And they puff up when they're angry. The blue jay shown was defending its turf from Flappy, and appears to have been drinking something other than water (note the obvious lean to one side).

We also have a male and female cardinal. Because hey, why not?

The above photo montage is an abbreviated catalog of semi-daily visitors.

The Drivers' condo has always been a welcome habitat for a wide range of creatures. There are tons of lizards and geckoes. We rescued a salamander from the surly cat — keeping "Sal" in a terrarium for a few days until he was reintroduced to his native element. Ladybugs and toads? Yep. Raccoons and possums on the nearby greenbelt? Definitely. Racoons in the crawlspace between The Driver's first and second floors? Just once. But that was enough.

The recent addition of birds to the mix has had its ups and downs. On the plus side, The Driver hasn't noticed nearly as many mosquitoes — and assumes that the sparrows are helping there. The drawbacks include uneaten seeds sprouting into unwelcome grass in The Driver's relatively fastidious landscaping.

And then there's the bird poop.

Good gravy, the bird poop.