After almost a week of daily inspections and departures, Mildred the Mourning Dove seems to have decided her nest from the last several years is good enough for another round of babies. She started sitting today and never left the nest all day.
But early this evening she disappeared and we took advantage of her absence to check the nest. Sure enough, she had laid an egg. The first of how many? Usually there are two eggs but last year she surprised us by laying three in one of her clutches. Such fun to have her back outside the kitchen window! Who cares if the flower basket looks kind of scraggly. She and I have formed a bond - she trusts me and I respect her space. It should be an interesting spring and summer!
4 comments:
I wish her the best--always fun to be able to witness that first hand. We have a robin that returns to the same spot in our grape vine every year. Seems to work out about half the years. Some years predators find the nest. Nature can be cruel
It is so much fun to be able to watch the process so closely! All my birds hide their nests too well for me to enjoy.
One of my favorite sounds in the world is the call and answer of morning doves. I used to mimic and get them to respond as a kid.
Now as an adult I realize I was just leading some poor bird on. I'm so ashamed ;)
Very exciting! I haven't found any nests this spring in my garden but think that someone must be nesting in all of the shrubbery. So sorry to hear about your drought and bad fire predictions.
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