Do Mourning Doves Relocate Their Chicks

Unlike some mammals that carry their offspring to new locations when threatened, mourning doves lack the physical ability to transport their babies.

Once hatched, the chicks remain in their original nest until they are ready to leave on their own.

This fundamental aspect of mourning dove behavior helps explain what likely happened to your seemingly abandoned nest.

The Most Likely Explanation: Natural Fledging

If your doves nest is suddenly empty, the most probable scenario is that the chicks have successfully fledged.

Mourning dove chicks develop at a remarkably rapid pace, typically leaving the nest just 12 to 15 days after hatching.

This quick development is an evolutionary adaptation that helps reduce the time young birds spend vulnerable in their exposed nests.

When mourning dove chicks first leave the nest, they may appear awkward and still somewhat fluffy.

They often cannot fly well initially and according to Cornell Lab: Birds of the World, may spend considerable time on the ground or perched in low bushes.

During this critical period, parent birds continue to feed and care for their offspring for another week or two, even though the family is no longer confined to the original nest location.

According to wildlife experts, this ground-dwelling phase is completely normal behavior for fledgling mourning doves, as these birds are natural ground feeders.

The parents will typically stay nearby, continuing their parental duties while the young birds strengthen their flight muscles and learn essential foraging skills.

Alternative Explanations for Empty Nests

While natural fledging is the most optimistic explanation, other factors could account for suddenly empty mourning dove nests.

Predation unfortunately represents a significant threat to mourning dove families.

Common predators include cats, snakes, raccoons, crows, jays, squirrels, and various birds of prey.

The relatively flimsy construction of mourning dove nests makes them particularly vulnerable to these threats.

Research indicates that mourning dove nests have relatively low success rates due to predation pressure.

If the chicks in your nest were very young (under a week old), predation becomes a more likely explanation than successful fledging.

Weather disturbances, human interference, or repeated predator visits can also lead to nest abandonment.

In such cases, the adult birds may abandon the nest entirely, leaving the chicks to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, very young chicks cannot survive without parental care.

Empty Nest: What to Check

If you discover an empty mourning dove nest, take time to observe the surrounding area.

Look carefully for fledglings on the ground or in nearby vegetation. These young birds may still be present but hidden from casual view.

Listen for the soft calls that parent mourning doves use to communicate with their offspring.

Check for signs of predator activity around the nest site.

Disturbed nesting materials, scattered feathers, or broken eggshells might indicate that predation occurred.

However, the absence of such evidence often suggests successful fledging rather than tragedy.

Exercise patience in your observations. Mourning doves are prolific breeders, often raising multiple broods throughout the breeding season.

Even if one nesting attempt fails, the adult pair frequently attempts to nest again, sometimes in the same general area.

How to Help

If you want to help mourning doves in your yard, consider providing a safe environment with minimal disturbances.

Keep cats indoors, maintain brush piles or low shrubs where fledglings can find cover, and avoid approaching active nests too closely.

Remember that empty nests often represent success stories rather than tragedies.

Those awkward-looking chicks that seemed too young to survive have likely taken their first important step toward independence, beginning their journey as the next generation of mourning doves.

Gene Planker is the creator of Wild-Bird-Watching.com, where he shares over 50 years of backyard birding experience. His guides help readers understand the nesting, feeding, and behavior of backyard birds.

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