Initially when I set eyes on this beauty in my garden I thought it was a Feral Pigeon. This was just a glance as it flew away. However later that day it did come back and I managed to take a few pictures of, to me, an unknown bird. Yes, it looked like a pigeon of some kind, but what was it really. At this point the word dove hadn't entered my mind. The only dove I was familiar with was the Collared Dove that are frequent visitors to my garden. Onto the RSPB Bird Identifier which wasn't much help. My description probably wasn't the best so there probably wasn't much chance of success in finding the bird's identity. Time to open the bird books. I've two RSPB books, one on British birds and the other on Scottish birds. Yep, Feral Pigeon and Wood Pigeon were there but looking nothing like the photograph. Turning the page I came to the doves. After careful scrutiny I decided it must be a Stock Dove. To make sure I posted the photograph on the Gardenwildlife Bird Forum, of which I am a member, asking other members to identify the bird. Every response came back a a Stock Dove. So there I had it, my very first Stock Dove in the garden. Unfortunately it has only been back once but I keep wishing and hoping.
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