Second shift

Posted on May 1, 2007 by jason

Last Friday evening I visited with xocobra and LD.  As luck would have it, I didn’t have my camera with me.

Nevertheless, I did want to share a bit of interesting news.

Remember the mourning doves who had commandeered a hanging planter on their patio?  They nested in it, of course.  The news reports indicate a healthy brood of two young’uns started their lives on the patio, grew up under the watchful eyes and gentle tutelage of mother and father, and eventually joined the big world as independent birds.

But that didn’t mark the end of the hanging planter or its use as a nest.

While xocobra and I talked a bit early on in my visit, the conversation turned to their experience watching the parent birds rear their young right there outside the back door.  That’s when my dear friend told me to take a quick gander at the dangling plant container.

What do you know!  Another pair of mourning doves has moved in and made themselves at home.

We laughed about how the first pair had obviously mentioned as part of neighborhood gossip how they had discovered this protected place that offered a wonderful habitat for those in the family way.  So along comes the second shift.

This pair of avian creatures is a bit smaller than the first, perhaps younger birds starting their first try at parenthood.

As I stood and looked at the one sitting in the nest, I marveled at how magical it all seemed, how splendid and remarkable the odds were that another pair would find the same spot and take advantage of its protective environment.

Could there be a third set of parents in waiting?  As I explained to xocobra, that seems terribly unlikely considering how late in the season it will be when this second brood finally leaves the nest area.  That’s not to say it couldn’t happen; it’s just highly improbable.

So I’m excited that there will be another set of offspring for yet another pair of mourning doves.  They’ll enjoy the same security as the first parents did, and they’ll nurture their children and use the cover of the patio to ensure a future generation’s well-being.

I hope to get some photos in the near future.  I especially am reminding myself constantly to keep the camera with me and to plan accordingly so as to offer some images of the little ones when they finally start making appearances.

I can only promise to do my best in that regard.

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8 Responses to “Second shift”

  1. xocobra

    May 04, 2007

    watchful eye from the surrogate parents (me and LD) to make sure there are no bombing attacks by other avian planes… :mrgreen:

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  2. xocobra

    May 05, 2007

    I have since found another nest in the large tree by the driveway. I hope that that family has the same luck with their babies. I’m not so sure since they are in a branch that reaches over the alley. It is a sturdy one and seems to have lasted through the last stormy beating. only time will tell. I will keep a watchful eye on them as well. It seems that we are now the neighborhood safe house for the doves…

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  3. xocobra

    May 05, 2007

    update, the flower pot got knocked off today. there will be no babies from this couple. both eggs were broken. :cry:

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  4. jason

    May 05, 2007

    Oh no! That’s terrible news. What happened?

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  5. xocobra

    May 06, 2007

    someone (mini me) was not paying attention while helping me do a project. He jumped and his head hit the bottom of the pot and it fell.

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  6. jason

    May 06, 2007

    Well, it’s not really so bad. It’s unfortunate, but remember that couple by the townhouse tried it three times in one year—and I mean the whole nesting and laying eggs. After having their home and potential offspring repeatedly demolished by thunderstorms, apparently the third time was the charm.

    So maybe they’ll come back and try again. They seem to not give up easily. You can tell I’m assuming you put the pot back up.

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  7. xocobra

    May 06, 2007

    that is a good assumption. I placed it back up as soon as i saw what had happened. LD was about to cry about the whole thing. the doves have become a part of our “wildlife”. It’s apparent that we don’t get out much if we are watching birds do their thing….

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  8. jason

    May 07, 2007

    Believe me, I cried each time the nest by the townhouse got knocked out the tree, and I felt a surge of joy each time the doves came back and rebuilt so they could try again. I understand LD’s reaction quite well.

    And it’s not that you don’t get out much. On the contrary, it’s that you’ve taken the time to notice and to care about the world around you. With as much harm as humans do to the environment and as many species as we drive to extinction, I’m always thrilled beyond words when someone stops to admire and appreciate what nature does when we’re not interfering with it.

    Oh, and don’t forget your new raccoon. It’s not just the birds you’re watching.

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