Turtle Doves: Bird of the Year 2020 + Population Declining

Dear users, dear authors,
Are you up to date on the Animal of the Year? Does it mean anything to you? Do you like pigeons or turtle doves in real life, or even as crafts?
Tell me what you think.

Actually, I used to find pigeons a bit of a nuisance. We have a lot of them around here.

That changed this spring. I really started to empathize with them and only now have I truly realized how lovingly these animals treat one another.

A pair of pigeons had built a nest in a tree right in front of our living room. We could even see the eggs. The male pigeon took such great care of his mate and kept re-padding the nest.
But one day the nest was empty—the eggs were gone. Shortly before that, we’d seen a bird of prey circling above our house.

I have to say, I was a little sad, because we would have loved to keep watching the chicks hatch and be fed.

I didn’t know that yet. I find that interesting.

I didn’t know they’d be chosen as the Animals of the Year 2020 either.

I don’t like them. There are more and more of them around here, and I don’t want them in my garden. Since their numbers have grown so much in recent years, we’ve been trying to prevent them from building nests and chasing them away—with success.

They’re too loud for me, and their droppings under the tree really bother me.

No, I don’t like having them around me. 

The turtle dove population has declined sharply in recent years, which is likely why the Nature Conservation Union selected it as the “Bird of the Year 2020.” (By the way, this isn’t the “Animal of the Year”—there are different categories: Wildlife of the Year, Fish of the Year, Butterfly of the Year, etc.) 

Turtle doves shouldn’t be confused with city pigeons or wood pigeons, which are a major nuisance in cities and shouldn’t be fed there for that reason.

Since turtle doves are considered a symbol for lovers, they’re naturally a great choice for crafts. (I’ve designed a door wreath with doves myself.) In real life, though, they aren’t necessarily among my favorite animals.

@Ruthk I didn't know that. I looked it up right away, and turtle doves look pretty, slender and beautifully marked. 

In our garden we have the regular pigeons—as you write, city pigeons—and they really are a nuisance.