The dove as a symbol of "peace", or on the menu?

[Ace-Garageguy]

Anyone who's even partially aware knows that the dove is pretty well universally accepted as a symbol of peace, and they seem at first glance like such nice, unoffensive little creatures.

Well, maybe not.

With the unusually cold winter down here, and the multiple frozen-precipitation events we've had so far, I've gone out of my way to provide the local birds with plenty of easily-available food and non-frozen water.

The feeding area is right outside my home-office window, and what I've noticed is that the doves are the nastiest, greediest, most selfish of all the 30-plus species I've counted so far.

While most of the other birds accept each other's presence with rarely a skirmish, and actually seem to take turns feeding (while others wait patiently), the doves invariably hog the food, sit on it to keep other birds away, fight with each other (not just other species), and actively attack and drive off smaller birds that try to snag a seed or two.

I think I'll dig out my dove-pie recipes. If you can't play nice... 

Edited January 20, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[b-body fan]

Squab!!!!

[StevenGuthmiller]

A dove is nothing more than a glorified pigeon.

Flying rats in my opinion!

 

Steve

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

A dove is nothing more than a glorified pigeon.

Flying rats in my opinion!

Agreed, but "dove pie" sounds so much tastier than "flying rat pie". 

[plastic trucker]

Their good too if you grill them. But it takes about two dozen of them to make a meal.

[Snake45]

3 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

The feeding area is right outside my home-office window, and what I've noticed is that the doves are the nastiest, greediest, most selfish of all the 30-plus species I've counted so far.

While most of the other birds accept each other's presence with rarely a skirmish, and actually seem to take turns feeding (while others wait patiently), the doves invariably hog the food, sit on it to keep other birds away, fight with each other (not just other species), and actively attack and drive off smaller birds that try to snag a seed or two.

 

They sound like EXCELLENT airgun targets! And cat food! 

[SfanGoch]

Howzabout a "peace" of this:

Delicious Pan Fried Dove Appetizer Recipe

 

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 12 Dove
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• peanut oil for frying

Instructions

 

1. Remove the breast meat from the dove. Place buttermilk onto a shallow bowl. In another shallow dish combine flour, paprika, salt, and pepper. Dredge the dove breasts into the buttermilk and then into the flour mixture until just coated.
2. Pour about 1/4 inch peanut oil into the bottom of a cast iron skillet and bring to 350 degrees. Fry the dove breasts in batches for about 2 minutes turning once during frying. Remove the dove to a platter and serve with your favorite dipping sauce or my favorite, plum jelly!

Seagull, preferably Gulf Coast or Northeast varieties, may be substituted for this recipe.

[SfanGoch]

I would recommend .50 cal API rounds instead of the traditional 71/2, 8 or 9 shot shells. The main advantage is that API allows you to cook your quarry as you shoot it. You should see what these babies can do to deer or wild boars caught downrange at the .50 cal. Qualification Course in Grafenwohr.

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, plastic trucker said:

Their good too if you grill them. But it takes about two dozen of them to make a meal.

Four-and-twenty flying rats baked in a pie...

[Ace-Garageguy]

18 minutes ago, SfanGoch said:

I would recommend .50 cal API rounds instead of the traditional 71/2, 8 or 9 shot shells. The main advantage is that API allows you to cook your quarry as you shoot it. You should see what these babies can do to deer or wild boars caught downrange at the .50 cal. Qualification Course in Grafenwohr.

...I can see a whole new genre of nouvelle cuisine opening up here...

[espo]

20 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Anyone who's even partially aware knows that the dove is pretty well universally accepted as a symbol of peace, and they seem at first glance like such nice, unoffensive little creatures.

Well, maybe not.

With the unusually cold winter down here, and the multiple frozen-precipitation events we've had so far, I've gone out of my way to provide the local birds with plenty of easily-available food and non-frozen water.

The feeding area is right outside my home-office window, and what I've noticed is that the doves are the nastiest, greediest, most selfish of all the 30-plus species I've counted so far.

While most of the other birds accept each other's presence with rarely a skirmish, and actually seem to take turns feeding (while others wait patiently), the doves invariably hog the food, sit on it to keep other birds away, fight with each other (not just other species), and actively attack and drive off smaller birds that try to snag a seed or two.

I think I'll dig out my dove-pie recipes. If you can't play nice... 

Like you I also feed the birds on a regular bases. The Doves in my neighborhood seem to get along with everyone. The only trouble makers I seem to notice are the Black Birds and the Crows that pass thru the area at times. Even the Blue Jays are playing nice this winter. My biggest problem is the lazy Squirrels that jump on the feeders instead of looking for the nuts they have been burying all last fall. I have a tree that provides so many acorns that it is hard to walk under and this @&%$# rodent is climbing the feeder. It seems as though no amount of BB strikes seem to deter them.  The biggest menace seems to be the infestation of Canadian Geese that camp out all winter. They defile the sidewalk by our pond and if allowed onto the lawn they eat the grass to the bare ground.  

[Ace-Garageguy]

13 minutes ago, espo said:

Like you I also feed the birds on a regular bases. The Doves in my neighborhood seem to get along with everyone...

Interesting. We must just have a particularly mean strain of doves here.  

Speaking of acorns...I've noticed something new (at least I hadn't noticed it before) with robins. There will often be very large flocks on the streets under oak trees, eating the acorn innards that have been crushed by passing cars.

The bluejays like the cat food I put out for the feral ones that live under the house (as do the possums and raccoons). The squirrels aren't getting into the bird feeders this year, but I've gone to some effort to make them rodent-deterrent.

We have a now year-round flock of Canadas (two breeding families) a couple blocks away in an office park that has two lakes, and they do make a mess. I keep thinking one might make a nice Christmas dinner. There's one solitary blue heron over there too.

Edited January 19, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[SfanGoch]

Sparrows, pigeons and robins around here can be regularly seen chowing down on discarded Chinese takeout fried chicken and/or wings. Must bring back fond memories of when they used to be T-Rexes prior to downsizing.

[Ace-Garageguy]

7 minutes ago, SfanGoch said:

...Must bring back fond memories of when they used to be T-Rexes prior to downsizing.

There you go, spreading that "evolution" nonsense again.

[Jim N]

19 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Agreed, but "dove pie" sounds so much tastier than "flying rat pie". 

Or pigeon pie. 

[Snake45]

6 hours ago, espo said:

Squirrels... It seems as though no amount of BB strikes seem to deter them.   

One pointed-tip .22 pellet from a modern hi-vel air rifle will "deter" a squirrel permanently, I can assure you. 

[Snake45]

6 hours ago, SfanGoch said:

Sparrows, pigeons and robins around here can be regularly seen chowing down on discarded Chinese takeout fried chicken and/or wings. Must bring back fond memories of when they used to be T-Rexes prior to downsizing.

Reminds me of one of my favorite expressions: "Like a couple of chickens fighting over a piece of garbage." 

[Ace-Garageguy]

3 hours ago, Snake45 said:

One pointed-tip .22 pellet from a modern hi-vel air rifle will "deter" a squirrel permanently, I can assure you. 

Anyone for squirrel-on-a-stick?   

[espo]

Well the Doves are of the Turtle Dove species, sort of a gray brown color and that may have something to do with their behavior. I have to be careful in punishing the Geese and the %&*%$ squirrel since the neighbors have young impressionable children and they abhor any violence toward the wild life. The other problem is that the great state of Kansas considers the Canadian Geese an endangered species and they take a dim view of anyone trying to harm the foul fowl. They cause an extreme deposit of nitrogen on the frozen lake and the open water that in the summer months we have to spend hundreds of dollars to treat the lake from the resulting  the Algae during the warm months.                  

[Ace-Garageguy]

6 minutes ago, espo said:

Well the Doves are of the Turtle Dove species, sort of a gray brown color and that may have something to do with their behavior. I have to be careful in punishing the Geese and the %&*%$ squirrel since the neighbors have young impressionable children and they abhor any violence toward the wild life. The other problem is that the great state of Kansas considers the Canadian Geese an endangered species and they take a dim view of anyone trying to harm the foul fowl. They cause an extreme deposit of nitrogen on the frozen lake and the open water that in the summer months we have to spend hundreds of dollars to treat the lake from the resulting  the Algae during the warm months.                  

Please don't get me wrong...I love animals. Pretty much ALL animals. I used to even catch rats in the no-harm traps and relocate them to wooded areas miles from housing. But over the last 50 years, I've taken a different attitude towards destructive or invasive species. Raccoons in the attic of my last house did many thousands of dollars worth of damage, and after trying to relocate them peacefully for months, I finally just terminated them...but I let the big kinda friendly one that chows down on the cat food every night just be a raccoon. He doesn't know any better, apparently assumes if someone leaves food out it MUST be OK to eat it, and that's OK by me. When he gets in the attic here though, it will be a different story.

Far as the Canada geese go, the lake that supports the two breeding pairs here is about an acre, and seems to be enough open water so they don't foul it. We get a LOT of migratory geese in the fall and spring though, and the grass all gets eaten, and the streets and sidewalks get pretty disgusting in places. Still, seeing the little ones grow up every year seems to me to be worth the mess.

[StevenGuthmiller]

30 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Please don't get me wrong...I love animals. Pretty much ALL animals. I used to even catch rats in the no-harm traps and relocate them to wooded areas miles from housing. But over the last 50 years, I've taken a different attitude towards destructive or invasive species. Raccoons in the attic of my last house did many thousands of dollars worth of damage, and after trying to relocate them peacefully for months, I finally just terminated them...but I let the big kinda friendly one that chows down on the cat food every night just be a raccoon. He doesn't know any better, apparently assumes if someone leaves food out it MUST be OK to eat it, and that's OK by me. When he gets in the attic here though, it will be a different story.

Far as the Canada geese go, the lake that supports the two breeding pairs here is about an acre, and seems to be enough open water so they don't foul it. We get a LOT of migratory geese in the fall and spring though, and the grass all gets eaten, and the streets and sidewalks get pretty disgusting in places. Still, seeing the little ones grow up every year seems to me to be worth the mess.

Agreed.

When the critters are in the wild or even my yard, I'll tolerate them & even welcome them in some circumstances.

But when they invade or damage my home, they are vermin & will be summarily executed!

 

Steve

[Snake45]

4 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Agreed.

When the critters are in the wild or even my yard, I'll tolerate them & even welcome them in some circumstances.

But when they invade or damage my home, they are vermin & will be summarily executed!

 

Steve

Agree completely. That's exactly my policy, too. 

[1930fordpickup]

When I was in scouts we had Chicken Noodle soup with Rabbit and Squirrel added almost every time.  Just clean them throw them in the pot with the chicken and boil away. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, 1930fordpickup said:

When I was in scouts we had Chicken Noodle soup with Rabbit and Squirrel added almost every time.  Just clean them throw them in the pot with the chicken and boil away. 

ANNOUNCING TWO NEW "Country Classic" FLAVORS FROM CAMPBELL'S...Squirrel Noodle and Bunny Noodle soups. M'm! M'm! GOOD.  

[1930fordpickup]

Thanks for the chuckle Bill.