Doves nesting in my balcony

by Mihoko Tokoro
(Woodland Hills, CA)

2 years ago spring, there were mourning doves started nesting on my wicker shelf in my balcony and laid 2 eggs. I was ignorant and thinking the mother would be hungry. So, I brought the bird food and water next to the nest. It was the biggest mistake not knowing that was squirrel's favorite, too!

One day I came home, the nest was all destroyed by the squirrels; eggs fell (they are half hatched) and the nest was abandoned. The birds never came back. My heart sank, and picked up the broken eggs and buried with my neighbor kid and prayed...

I left the remains of the nest as was for 2 years, hoping one day some other birds (or the same ones) would come back to nest. Sure enough, about a week ago 2 doves started to build onto the old nest. The new nest was built in 1 day!

Now, the dove laid 2 eggs and she/he are incubating. Today is the 4th day and just saw the shift change just after the sunset. It was such a lovely sight. One flies in close, and the one leaves the nest. The one just came in guards the eggs for a while, then sit on them. It's hard to tell which is male or female.

It seems they trust me enough when I water my plants just 2-3 feet away. I am so anxious to see the little ones... I hope they will be safe from squirrels this time.