Two birds

Two mourning doves

It all started with an update to my camera. At least it was supposed to be an update. In order to move to the newest update I had to install a program so I did that. Long story short, nothing is ever simple in my relationship to technology and after checking the version of the software on my camera it said I had the latest version even though I know there have been at least two updates since then. The way I often deal with these things is to ignore them and either come back later or ask Richard for help. I went into ignore mode.

But that got me thinking that I should, perhaps, download all of the images from my SD card onto my laptop. I managed that and then decided it would be a good idea to have a look through the images that I took this year. So I started in.

When you look at images as a large group rather than in small sections you notice patterns. I found an incredible number of bird photos. Not really a surprise since that’s what most interests me. Among the sparrows, magpies, flickers, woodpeckers, and songbirds, two days and two birds stood out.

A wing stretch can be a greeting

We were camping at Little Bow Provincial Park and I noticed a mourning dove walking around in the campsite next to ours. It settled on the gravel pad and just sat for a long time. I took a few photos of it marvelling at how well camouflaged it was. I walked over towards it slowly and it didn’t move or show any sign it was aware of my presence. I went back to what I was doing and it was still there until almost dark. I didn’t see it leave.

The next day a mourning dove flew down from a tree and settled in the long grass at the edge of our campsite. Soon it was joined by another one. I got out my camera and knelt on the ground a couple of metres away. I watched the birds for a while before I picked up my camera. Again they didn’t seem at all bothered by my presence. From that moment time stood still. I talked softly to the birds as I took photo after photo. I moved closer to them. They continued to behave as if I wasn’t there. They preened, fished through the grass for food, stretched their wings, looked around and, eventually they both closed their eyes.

Contentedly preening

The sun was quite a bit lower in the sky when I realized that my legs were stiff from being on my knees and my arms were tired from holding up my camera and telephoto lens. I backed away from the birds saying a quiet thank you. I felt privileged to be so close to wild creatures and observe them as they rested.


As I went through the photographs today I felt a profound sense of calm even as I had the afternoon I watched the birds. I decided to pull together some of my favourite images of the year so I could look at them all in one spot. I plan to return to this folder on Christmas Day and probably New Year’s Eve so I can be reminded of the moments of rest that came during 2020 amid all the chaos of a global pandemic. It helps to have places to go in my imagination when I want a break from the chaos of daily life. There is a saying that chopping wood warms twice: once as you chop it and once as you burn it. The photos of the mourning doves calmed twice: once as I watched them through the lens and again when I revisited their photos on my screen. May all of us find things we can turn to when the Covid case counts rise and the world seems to have turned upside down.

One sleeps while the other watches