Doves On My Windowsill
by Miriam Rubinoff
(Brooklyn, NY)
One Chick, One Egg
We have a lot of ivy growing across our dining room windows. Early this spring we had noticed a mourning dove, often sitting on the windowsill and cooing. It sounded like it was in the house with us!
It must have felt safe there, because it soon built a nest and was sitting there all the time. I noticed that once it had built its nest, it stopped cooing. It seemed curious, but not frightened at the nosy neighbors who kept looking out the window at it.
Last week a little dove appeared in the nest and the parent was feeding it. A few days later I saw just the baby and an egg in the nest- apparently Junior had been left to babysit. The daddy came back soon, but left Junior in charge from time to time during the day. I can actually see him breathing, the nest is so close!
Days later, the second egg still has not hatched, and the parents are away from the nest more and more. Could the egg be a dud, and the parents are aware of that somehow? I don't think they would leave the egg uncovered otherwise.
Soon Junior will learn to fly- I saw him stretching his wings today! I hope the parents like it here enough to raise another family.
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