Tag Archives: Texas

Dove tale

A white-winged dove built a nest in my balcony. It took about two weeks for the eggs to hatch and two more for the babies to fledge.

June 28th – I stepped out for better cell reception to this!

Two eggs

A parent

What bird is this, I wondered …

white-winged dove on nest in Dallas, Texas

A white-winged dove! Identifying marks: bright blue ring around the eye, black streak on cheek, and white-edged wing that gives the bird its name.

July 9th at dawn

I came home drenched from a sudden downpour to a sight that tugged at my heart.

Mom is sopping wet and hanging on in thunderstorm gusts and heavy rain. The balcony has no awning, so there’s no protection from rain. July 12th

All dry and fluffy the next day – July 13th

Is that fuzzball under mom a baby bird? July 14th

Two little heads and two little tails – July 17th

Why this bird chose a fourth-floor balcony grate to have babies beats me.

I gratefully accept this gift …

… of a beautiful dove and new life so close

White-winged dove profile story 🙂

July 19th

So big so fast. So beautiful! July 21st

Family portrait – July 25th

July 26th – Last pic of the three together before the baby birds fledged

See how the story ends! Check out the full album of photos taken June 28th to July 28th.

More about this beautiful bird:
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: White-Winged Dove
Beauty of Birds: White-Winged Doves

I’ll forever love my very first bird guide, All the Birds of North America. It is awesome! There’s the Merlin Bird ID App, too.

Note: All close-ups are crops of longer shots (to give the birdies their space).

Dayspring Nature Preserve – Allen, Texas

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When it’s brrrry cold outside, there’s always photos from the month of May.

Nature preserve beats traffic jam

Indian paintbrushes (ratibida columnifera) surround firewheel (gaillardia pulchella)

Sheer re-leaf

‘Round the bend for mind to mend

Path-o-logically peaceful

Air filter

Decked out in emerald

Here’s the City of Allen listing for Dayspring Nature Preserve.

Crowley Park, Richardson

Bob Woodruff Park, Plano – South Pavilion

Lovely La Villita

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One of my favorite places in DFW is La Villita in Irving. A lake glistens at its center, and the Trinity River flows less than a quarter mile to the east. You’ll see migratory Canada geese form giant Vs in the sky in the fall and again in the spring.

Check out the townhouses west of the lake …

and the houses east of it.

I lived in an apartment complex on the south side of the lake. Nature was very much a part of La Villita. Dozens of cedar waxwings chose the trees I could see from my balcony to sun themselves one spring morning. Another time, heavy rain brought an enormous number of egrets to the river nearby. I go back now and then to take in the calming effect of the lake and the Tuscan colors around it.

Then a short walk to Campion Trail to sit by the river under this grand, cooling, grounding tree (leftmost in pic below) after last month’s lunch appointment in Irving.