Mourning Dove in Amaryllis Pot

by Wayland Jackson
(Fresno CA)

I watched a dove carrying a twig in her beak land on one of the amaryllis potted plants, about 3 - 4 feet off the patio level.

With some delight, I called my wife and told her I thought nest building was going on. She only carried a few twigs and took her nesting position.

When I saw a cat in our backyard, I ran across the patio clapping my hands like a wild man! The cat skittered for the wrought iron gate and disappeared.

We have five (5) bird feeders in our backyard, so we have found a few light feathers underneath one of them at times.

This mourning dove left the nest and I thought it would be a good time, so I put some seed on both ends of her nest.

Since the weather is getting warmer, I wanted to water that plant, but I feared scaring her off. Once I saw her two beautiful, little eggs!

With warmer weather, I began to worry about her getting food and water. What a relief to look on the internet and learn that she and her mate worked in shifts, one days, the other nights!

The bright red amaryllis plants in that pot are starting to open and the three pots altogether have seven stems coming up 2 feet tall and each stem has four trumpet like blossoms at the top.

I think the photo of the dove with the flowers will be pretty, but for the purpose of this note, I will attach a couple of photos of the nesting one. We have no named her/him yet.

From Wild-Bird-Watching.com

Never put food close to and especially in a nest. Doing so can attract predators to the nest. Birds will not starve themselves to hatch their eggs. Even birds that stay on the nest are fed by their mates.