Vacated nest - deposit not returned!

Yesterday the dove chicks were exploring their leafy latticed home, under the close watch of Mama Dove. This morning they were still here, but by this afternoon they had flown. The nest is an empty pile of twigs. The kids have left the nest, off to explore new worlds. Mama and Papa have probably rented an RV or booked into a Vegas hotel suite, happy to be on their own again.

It's easy to get romantic about nature, but whenever I do that, I'm always brought up short by reality. Since the babes have hatched out, it's been three, sometimes four hungry birds living in a very small space on the latticework over our deck table and chairs. Well, it all may be fluffy feathers and cute little bright-eyed chicks up above. But here's what it looks like below:

Dove poop. Lots and lots of dove poop. They trashed the joint! Now I get what it's like to be a landlord!

Such a good mommy!

Here's another photo:

The doves have hatched ? ! ? !

[The Man I Love] was working at home yesterday. He called me at work with the news that the doves have hatched! We had to meet someone for dinner last night, and got home after dark. So this morning I leaped out of bed at quarter to six, I was so anxious to see!

Silly me, of course, it was still too dark then to really see under the leaves. But as the sky lightened, I could finally see - er, wait a minute. Who's that?

It's Papa Dove, watching over the nest, his taupe, striped wings looking just as neat and proper as a well-tailored suit. Beyond him, in the shadows of the leaves, I saw movement, fluttering - the babies? A feathered wing too large to be a dove-chick flapped up and I realized that Papa Dove was watching over Mama, who was turning around on the nest to get more comfy, just like turning over in bed.

Of course, you realize that this post was composed sentence by sentence - punctuated with me leaping up, tiptoeing to the window with the camera, and then back to the computer. Up for more coffee and a peek at the nest, then back to download the photos.

So here they are. Papa Dove has flown off to work, and here's Mama Dove and the kids.


Can you see them? I had to take the picture through the window. That's Mama, puffed up, the rounded top of her head, her eye obscured by a leaf. Just below her chest is one little chick, you can see his head and his beak pointing down. At Mama's side is the other chick.

Aren't they great? Just in time for Mother's Day!

You talkin' to me?

Here's Papa Dove this morning, at shift change. I never can tell whether they see us behind the glass, but I took his photo thru the window. Anyway, he flew in and was strutting around like a real stud, a provocateur. Mama Dove was on the nest, but Papa Dove was telling everyone to back off!

State of the Nest

Quite early this morning while I was still in bed, I heard the coo and peculiar whirring sound that mourning doves' wings make, and looking sideways out the bedroom window, I saw a bird perched on the trellis. Must have been time for a shift change.

Watching a bird on a nest is kind of like watching paint dry - there's not much going on. Plus, it's important not to disturb the nesting bird. So I usually take a peek in the morning when I get up and in the evening when I come home, and not much else. The nest is so carefully hidden in the wisteria that it's sometimes hard to see more than the blur of dove-brown feathers. These birds have chosen their nesting place well!

This morning as the heat of the day built up, I went to the window to lower the blinds - it keeps the house cool. I noticed an interesting phenomenon. The wisteria leaves were turned upward and folded on themselves, instead of lying flat and open. I imagine this is how the plant conserves its moisture in the sun - reducing the surface area exposed to the hot rays.

It made it easier for me to see the bird, and easier to show you, too.

Dove update

They're still there! They're on the nest. I can't tell one dove apart from the other, so I never know whether it's the mama dove or the papa dove, but when I come out to the kitchen in the morning, or I come home from work in the evening, I tiptoe over to that side of the room and see if there is still a bird on the nest in the leaves.

No more photos for now, because it's really really hard to see them in the leaves. Maybe when they hatch I can get a picture.

For Laura

The doves I saw from my kitchen window the day I started this blog seem to really like hanging out on top of the shade structure. It's only been a week or so since this picture, but already the wisteria has grown so much it reaches the window.

Every day I look, either one or both of the doves are out there. And this one is always hidden in the leaves like this. So I'm wondering if maybe they are nesting.

Luckily, I have an internet friend who's an ornithologist, so this post is for her - hey, Laura, what do you think? Are they building a nest? How long do they take to hatch their eggs?

What a morning!

I'm playing hooky, sort of. I'm home from work awaiting a delivery, and having a bit of guilty pleasure at how beautiful it is outside. Is it really like this out here, while I'm stuck in a cubicle all day?

The sky's flawlessly blue, and the sun is sparkling off the shiny leaves of the coastal live oaks outside my kitchen window. Actually, there's a bit of a breeze that may turn into a Santa Ana later this week, but right now it's just a welcome breath of spring air.

I went to the kitchen to refill my coffee, and what did I see?

Two little mourning doves perched on top of the trellis that covers our deck. The wisteria that climbs over the trellis is in full bloom, and the little doves were among the leaves and pannicles of blossoms.

What a gift! Shouldn't every day begin with a visit from doves?

So that's why I've decided to call this blog Dove Today - because everyday, maybe there will be a dove.