A Dove Affair

A little over a month ago, I was having a normal morning until I thought a mourning dove was about to crash into the dining room window. He pulled up and landed in the flower basket. Then I noticed he had pine needles in his mouth and passed them to his mate. They were building a nest. I was about to become a bird uncle!

Mother dove feeding one of the babies

I don't know for sure when the eggs hatched, but about three weeks later I got my first look at one of the babies. By then the flowers in the basket were dead and brown, perfect camouflage for the doves. A second baby was in there too, I just didn't notice it for another week. By that time, the babies were almost adult sized. They were up on the edge of the basket flapping their wings, getting ready to fledge the nest.

Baby dove

The last time I saw one of them it was on the edge of the basket flapping during a severe thunderstorm. Through the glass, I was trying to convince it to not try flying in such nasty weather. The next morning, it was gone. A few hours later I watched as the second baby flapped at the edge of the basket, then took off and flew into the neighbor's tree.

The children are getting older

It took less than a month to build a nest, lay eggs, hatch them, and fledge the nest. I was sure my little friends would be around at least until summer. Every now and then I'll look out the back window and see a pair of doves in the yard, or perched on the fence. To me they all look the same, but I can't help thinking it's the same ones I watched grow up.

Have the prodigal doves returned?