3rd Round This Summer

by Lorraine
(Massachusetts)

Hi again!

This is the 3rd round of babies to arrive since May. The first time around we didn't see the parents switching places on the nest, but since then we have seen the parents change their shifts of sitting on the nest.

It seems that the dad is thinner than the mom or has a longer neck?

It is amazing how they will not leave the nest once the eggs are ready to hatch and when the babies are born. Before the eggs hatch, they do fly off when we leave the house.

The nest is just a foot from our den window and about 2 feet from the front door in my hanging plant. I thought by now they would be have become accustomed to us. Sometimes I'll leave a little pan of water for them but not sure if they use it or not.

I wonder if they will come back next year? Here is a photo of babies # 5 & 6 :-)

Bird Feeder Nest

by Pamela
(Midvale, UT, USA)

My husband and I have a small enclosed backyard, quite safe from roaming critters (except my harmless Maltese, "Ivan"). For the past few summers, a pair of doves come to sit on our back fence each morning.

Last spring, a pair of doves nested in the "dead-end" of one of our rain gutters. The doves sat on their nest through the wind, rain and weather. Since the nest was out of our sight, I don't know if they successfully reared fledglings.

I have an old, covered, weather-beaten bird feeder that I fill each summer. In mid-April, I noticed it had an occupant...a mourning dove!

Perhaps it is the same pair as last year, but this year they have nested in a "sheltered" facility. It is a good thing, since this spring has been especially wet, windy and cold.

We call the parents, "Margaret and Thomas" from the BBC series characters of "Lark Rise to Candleford." ("Margaret," the dove reminds me of "Margaret Brown.")

They don't seem to mind my photo sessions (of them) and gardening in the yard below them. We have been treated with a great view of the nest and are able to keep an eye on the parents and chicks.

The feeder is only about 10 feet from our back door and 7 feet off the ground. This has been our first experience with nesting mourning doves; it's fun and pretty exciting.

More Babies!

by Lorraine
(Massachusetts)

Hi - the first set of babies flew away in about a week's time. We coudn't see them at first and then started seeing feathers underneath the parents. The parents seem to puff up to cover the babies when they are hatched.

After a couple of days we started to see their faces, and then they were out from under the parents. My goodness they grow fast!!! In about a week they huge and flew away.

But less then a week later, there were 2 more eggs! I don't know if it's the same birds or different birds. The nest is really close to our front door and the parents tend to fly away before the babies are hatched but once they hatch, the parents don't move from the nest.

But the same thing, eggs hatched in about 2 weeks, and the 2nd set of babies are now here! So much fun!

Chicks about to Fledge

by Janice
(Virginia Beach, Va.)

These mourning doves have been such a joy but now they have grown so that the joy is leaving by this weekend.

I have written before about my new found friends so will leave that and just give you the picture that I took this past evening.

Baby Doves On Adirondack Chair

by Elizabeth Barber
(Halton Hills, Ontario)

The nest for these doves must be in our garden somewhere and the parents are no longer around. We feed them daily.

Baby Mourning Doves

by Natalie Petersen
(New London, MN)

I had submitted a story with photograph yesterday that showed a Mourning Dove male sitting on the nest with a baby. I had indicated that I would love to see if there were indeed more babies in the nest.

That opportunity presented itself later in the day, when while walking through my yard, the male flew off the nest.

I noticed then and there that two babies were in the nest! I was excited, to say the least.

I ran into the house to grab my camera and took this photo of the babies without the parent present. I think it's a good thing I did, as I don't think they will be in the nest much longer.

I will be anxious to see if the nest is re-used this season, as I've read that sometimes it can be.

Mysterious nest raid

by Cory
(San Diego, CA)

Greetings. We are proud to say we have fledged many, many chicks from our yard over the years, which of course means we have also seen many nests raided and the babies snatched away.

We have always assumed the culprits were cats or rats since the scene involved major disruption of the nest and feathers everywhere -- and indeed it may have been such predators -- but over the years we have in fact discovered that other bird species are the most likely culprits.

Crows often prowl our yard, and we were shocked (and amazed and even somewhat delighted as birdwatchers) when we witnessed a coopers hawk swoop in one day and inspect everything (no nests then).

Then, about a year ago, I observed another dove -- of all things -- brutally harassing another parent dove doing its best to sit on its nest and tend its babies.

The attacking dove stood on the nesting doves back and ripped feathers from it until the mate returned and fought off the aggressor. This made me wonder if anyone has ever seen another dove raid a nest and carry off or kill the babies. Anyone?

Then this: Last week we had a pair with very young chicks on a nest they had used already this season to fledge two broods successfully.

The nest is supremely concealed, about three feet off the ground in a flower pot mounted on a low fence.

It cannot be seen from above or on three sides, covered by many low hanging branches and boughs, but it was an ideal place for our observation; we often sat on a bench just three feet away, where the parents and chicks calmly tolerated us.

Unfortunately we awakened on Saturday to find the chicks gone… but there was no disturbance to the nest at all -- no feathers, no down, not a twig out of place -- and there was no disturbance to the surrounding foliage or groundcover of any kind.

Though in past years we have seen cats and even rats on patrol, that’s been so very long ago we discount the possibility this time, especially in light of the fact that there was not a twig out of place.

The one thing my sharp-eyed wife did find on the ground was the two crops or livers of the babies, as clean as if they’d been removed by a surgeon and washed for research -- but not another bit of debris or carnage or disruption of any kind.

So my question: Have any of you ever witnessed or learned of such a raid conducted by other mourning doves?…

Of course we are skeptical, and of course it’s natural to assume another form of predation, but the scene is so perfectly intact -- as if the parents and babies had simply flown away by choice (minus the crops/livers) that we just can’t figure it out.

We’ve set our trusty traps for rats (catch-and-release, of course), and we keep our eyes peeled for cats (even our neighbors say they haven’t seen one around in years), and we are confident no larger bird can detect the nest, but we are open to all suggestions, especially from anyone who’s had a similar situation.

Thanks!

Doves Giving Me An Education!

by Michael Berry
(Salinas, CA)

We came back from a vacation, and was catching up on the yard watering when we discovered a dove nesting in one of our wall mount planters.

We watched for about 16 days, with the "changing of the guards" each 12 hour period. Two eggs produced two babies.

The babies grew up very fast, flying out of the nest after about 8 days! They were in the yard on and off for about 5 more days, then headed out.

Now the mom is back in the same nest with one more egg. Such fun watching.

Dove nest in South Florida

by Ria
(Tamarac, South Florida)

Mourning doves nested in a Sabal Palm tree right outside our second floor office window. The female picked a great spot facing our window and sheltered by the building and the fronds of the palm tree. It was shady and out of sight from predators.

We had a perfect view of the birds and their chicks. I took pictures every weekday as we watched the little family grow. We were able to observe the parents switching positions on the nest each morning and the female providing food to the chicks from her mouth. While one parent was on the nest, the other was perched on a nearly light pole keeping guard.

At first we saw only one eggshell and one chick, but it soon was apparent that the second chick was just hidden a little from view. The two chicks grew so fast right before our eyes and after a while, they barely fit in the nest. We came into the office one Monday morning to find the chicks gone and the female preparing the nest for a new brood just a few days later.

I had started feeding a pair of doves in the parking lot about a year and a half ago. One of my co-workers also feeds them.

They have gotten to know me and they fly down to my car when I pull in my spot in the morning. They also spot me when I come out of the building before I get near my car and fly down in front of my feet.

I feed them black oil sunflower seeds and they now let me get really close to them during feeding.

We believe that the nesting doves are the same ones we feed. I noticed that only one dove at a time was feeding in the morning just about the same time the nest was built.

At first I was concerned to see only one dove, but then it made me happy to know that our little mated pair was still together and well and raising a family.

My Mourning Dovee

by Barbara
(Prosperity, SC)

Several weeks ago I came across a baby mourning dove in my backyard. The neighbors dog was after it but I grabbed it just in time. I brought the dove in the house, and began nurturing it.

I fed it baby bird food with an eye dropper and then I was feeding it from my hand and the bird thrived to the point of eating out of my hands and also between my fingers.

All the time, I would talk to my lil dovee and it would shake it's tail and coo as though it knew what I was saying.

I kept it in a bird cage with water and seed, but continued hand feeding it 2 to 3 times a day.

Then came the day that I dreaded, I knew it wanted to leave. I brought it outside and at first it didn't want to leave, but eventually the baby dove took flight to a tree that was close by.

That was about 3 days ago. Every day since, the dove has returned to eat bird seed that I have in the back yard for all the birds.

This morning was the best, the dove flew up on the railing of my deck while I was having my morning coffee. When I approached it and spoke, it flapped it's wings and cooed as if it still knew what I was saying.

My husband, in disbelief, ran and got the camera and took a few pictures that I've posted to share with everyone out there.

Baby brought to me....

by Terri
(Northport, AL)

My son's friend brought me a baby dove...did not know what it was in the beginning. He did not look good at all, and truly did no think he would make it.

I took him outside daily and put Lovie on the ground under my bird feeders to see what he would do.

The first time, Lovie stood there for about five minutes, turned around and walked right to me. I knew I was in trouble!!!

I've been caring for the little one for about 3 weeks now. He is still an outside bird. He has a fenced in area in our backyard.

My daughter goes out a few times a day and "plays" with him. When I go outside to check on Lovie, he either flies on top of my head or my shoulder!!! We just love having him around.

I think he loves on me...not sure of some of his behaviors. He's just too darn sweet and cute!!!!

I hope I am doing the right thing. I could not keep him in the house. I do think we have made him a comfortable place outside. He has his own birdbath, house, and feeder.

Any suggestions would be helpful!!!

Baby Dove Came Back!

by Susan Reynolds
(San Clemente, CA.)

I found this site as I was searching to see if there were any posts on baby doves returning to the nest.

It seems from some of the posts they do.

I can't be sure it's one of the babies that flew away about two weeks ago but, it doesn't look like an adult and there doesn't appear to be any eggs so far.

We love having these peaceful birds in our yard.

Doves just hanging around

by Kay Krause
(Charlevoix, Michigan)

I went out to cut the grass on Sat and noticed a mourning dove sitting behind my butterfly bush. I figured it would just move off once I started moving around, so I continued to ready my task.

I was picking up a few things and was just about to get the lawn mower when out from under the deck comes another mourning dove. Neither one of them appeared ready to move.

So needless to say I abandoned the idea of cutting the grass so as not disturb them. I just figured they would be gone in a few hours.

It is now Sunday and the pair of birds is still hanging around my yard. Last I put out a bowl of water. I also put out some sunflower seeds. I am not sure if are sick or hurt or what.


This morning when I got up I thought of the birds. Are they gone? So out I went. I walked to the end of my deck and looked over on the ground and couldn't see them in either corner. Oh good, I thought, they flew away.

When I turned around, there they were on the railing. Sitting right there, not afraid. I went out to take a picture of them and thought once again perhaps they were gone and found them huddled together under one of my lawn chairs. I am puzzled as to what do.

Can I get some help, I don't want any harm to come to them and we have Ferrell cats around this area. Help!