No footie today (we were away at Chelsea and lost!) so we've been mooching around in the garden doing a bit of tidying and playing with the hens and rabbits.

This feather, standing proudly in the lawn (what's left of it after three months or more with little or no rain) once belonged to one of my very own gang of collared doves. When I first moved here nine years ago there was only one - now there are a couple of dozen that are regular visitors. Every morning, when I do the feeding of outdoor animals, the wild birds get a scoop of seed. If I do the rabbits first, the doves fly round my head, cooing and buzzing me to make sure I've not forgotten them. They line up along the trellis and wait their turn - it's a very hierarchical society with the 'head dove' eating its fill before the others are allowed on the table. Funnily enough, 'head dove' doesn't seem to mind the sparrows and finches coming onto the table while he/she (I've no idea how to sex a dove) eats.

They seem to be moulting at the moment - along with the hens and rabbits, ready for winter and there are a few feathers on the ground nearby. It doesn't seem to be a predator, when the sparrowhawk has been around there are lots of the fluffy under feathers so you can tell if they're being eaten!