Empty Nest

Saturday morning, we were woken up by a loud fluttering from the porch (I had left my door open). We found the fledglings out of the nest, which is about three feet from the floor. I put some birdseed in a dish on the floor, and Papa dove eventually found it. The three pecked at it until one of the little ones decided to sit in the dish.

That night, the fledglings flew up to the porch railing, and from there, flapped their wings like they were practicing a take off.

Sunday morning, they flew off.

Unfortunately, I don't think this story ends happily. We found Mama dove with one of the little ones at my door Sunday afternoon. Later that day, we saw both parents with just one of the little ones across the street on some of the landscaping.

Monday morning, we heard Papa dove's mourning call. It continued for a few hours, by which time we were out of bed and on our way to work.

Baby doves have a very high mortality rate and are easy prey. I think they flew off too early, and were not strong enough to fly back up to the safety of my porch. I hope the parents were able to keep one of them safe but I fear that at least one of them did not make it.

Dove Family Portrait

The Mama and the Papa

The dove parents take turns keeping the kids warm. Up until this weekend, we hadn't seen the two together, but here they are. Don't ask which is which.

Alice took some video of the baby doves feeding. From http://www.passporttotexas.com/birds/aug.html,
Doves feed their young "pigeon's" milk, produced from the lining of the crop. Only doves, pigeons, penguins and flamingos produce crop milk.

The parents don't give them much time alone, but we did get to take this pic today. A week makes quite the difference!

Happy Birthday, dovelings

I decided to check on the state of the nest this afternoon after hearing the mother dove fly off for her break.

Awwwwww (or ewwwwww... depending on which one you look at)

Mama dove is back at the nest now. Apparently, doves sit on their young after they hatch.