Mourning Dove family

Roughly 2 weeks ago a family of Mourning Doves decided my ladder hanging up in the carport would make a fine place to start a family. The incubation period is said to be 14 days and we're darn close to that mark right now so I'll be checking the clutch every day until these little guys hatch.

Stay tuned for updates!!

So you found a mirror so you could see/shoot into the nest. You should get a wireless video camera so you could put a live feed on the internet.

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Great company you got there! …that is if they are more quiet than the ring-collar
doves under the garage roof! They have very long and repetitive courts that some-
times… Next year, I'll have to put some wires at that place. But for now… errr!

Tracsoft - Don Kuykendall said:

So you found a mirror so you could see/shoot into the nest. You should get a wireless video camera so you could put a live feed on the internet.

Click to expand...

I thought I had the mirror secured but after about 30 mins it had slipped so I'm thinking I'll just hand hold the mirror. It's at a tough angle and the Mrs. isn't too found of me putzing around near her nest.

I sleep in an upstairs bedroom that has an AC unit through the wall. There is also an awning that goes over the AC unit and the bedroom windows that are immediately to the left of it. For years I had a mourning dove that would build its nest on the AC unit. Since I have a couple of cats, I had to block the window with poster board, and when the window was opened, I had to insert a window fan just to block the view. The dove would show up as early as February and lay its eggs as early as March. Sometimes snow would blow underneath the awning forcing the dove to leave its nest--and on a couple of occasions, its babies--because we've had snow as late as mid-April.

My point is that it kept coming back year-after-year until I replaced the AC unit with a much larger one that doesn't allow enough clearance for the dove to get underneath the awning. Be prepared for a return visit next year!

Be careful not to get too close to that nest too often, especially when the kids come along, it could cause mama to abandon the nest.

Mourning Dove update - the eggs have finally hatched approx 2 days ago. So far, so good....

Mourning Dove update - just minutes ago we were in the backyard and one of the babies came out of the nest and jumped over to the edge of fence. The mother then flew over near the baby and seemed to be urging him to fly again. So then the little baby bird took off on its first wobbly little flight. He had made it up to about 7 ft in the air and was nearing the carport roof when out of nowhere a hawk swooped down at top speed and snagged that little bird right out of the air and was gone in less than a second. And all this happened right there in front us. The poor momma bird just sat there on the fence looking around like "what just happened?". I don't think we had finished saying out loud "Oh wow, his first flight" when that hawk whacked him right out of the air. I think we actually said "Oh wow, his fir...Oh NO!!!" I still can't believe that just happened. You know, I understand the whole "circle of life" and all but come on, that poor little guy hadn't even landed from his very first flight when he was rocketed off by the hawk. Unbelievable. :disturbed:

Well, hopefully the second little bird is still in the nest and hopefully he'll have been luck than his sibling did... assuming he's still in the nest and not the hawks first meal, that is.

Now that is a bad ending to a nice story.

Nature isn't for the faint-of-heart; the hawk's babies have to eat, too.

WM

Man, talk about a tough life out there...esh!

Nature can be harsh, but beautiful even at times like that. The hawk swooping down would have been a beautiful sight and an awesome shot if you could see it clearly and catch it.
Maybe the next little one will make it!

Ugh! So sorry to hear about this. We have hawks (and falcons) in our suburban area and unfortunately find piles of bird feathers in our yard every so often. Once I saw a hawk swoop down underneath a carport and grab a bunny that was trying to hide.

Hopefully the other baby, parents, and any other future babies will be able to live long lives.

Well, the second little dove is still in the nest so momma dove has at least one more opportunity to pass on her genes to another generation (ie - the selfish gene theory). Fingers crossed this little guy gets more than a single flight before becoming someones dinner.