A collared dove sitting on her 2 newly-hatched chicks has remained unmoved - though bedraggled and battered by the heavy rain and gales. The nest is in a monkey puzzle tree offering hardly any shelter. The chicks hatched today 29 April.

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This is the third brood this dove has had this year. It sat for 11 days also in February through freezing temperatures with 2 nights in a row of minus 11 degrees. The dove and chicks survived those 2 nights, but the chicks finally perished on the following night when it was minus 18 degrees. The dove came straight back and nested again successfully - through the hot and dry days of March. Now it is weathering the storms of April! The 'partner' dove occasionally visits with food, they seem to rarely swap nest-sitting duties!

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Size: 4928px × 3264px
Location: Buckinghamshire, UK
Photo credit: © studio beam / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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