We had a noisy, windy thunderstorm blow through about an hour ago and I worried about the Dove family, exposed to the storm even though their nest is under the carport roof.
I hesitated checking on them, because I learned recently that doves will abandon a nest and/or hatchlings if they feel threatened or are disturbed by visitors. So this will be my last photo for a few days, but I just had to show everyone that Junior Number Two is here! (Junior Number One is the slightly larger one on the right in the nest.)
I hope they both make it to adulthood. The cat I thought would become tame has moved away; gone three weeks now. I hope none of the other neighborhood cats - or the nest-robbing birds! - discover the Dove family.
(C) 2011 Photo by M. C. McLemore
5 comments:
Last summer a pair of Robins nested under my eaves. One fell out before he could fly, I saw him hopping around my lawn and out onto the sidewalk and street. My goddaughter, just down the block, scooped the young bird up and took it home, fed it worms. It started following her dad around the house, hopping after him. Around three weeks later they let it loose, and I occasionally saw it in the yard. It was different than it's fellow robins in that it tended to hop around a lot...it even climbed trees with it's feet.
They are quite ugly little scraps when they're small aren't they? A lot of creatures are prettier when young but these obviously improve with maturity! Glad they're OK.
With us it's house martins. Their nest is a very solid job made from mud, spit and (for all I know) bits of house brick and is a permanency at the apex where the fascia meet. Occasionally one of the youngsters topples out to its doom but the nest is way beyond my access. We're great enthusiasts about the finished product, watching them swoop and dive, knowing that they're gobbling up the flying things we'd rather not have tangled in our hair. Theoretically they're in the aerobatics game for food but you can't help thinking some of the moves are purely for fun. Like dolphins.
I've always had a soft spot for babies of all varieties. I hope you get to see them fledge and fly.
Mike (Should Fish More): Now that's imprinting on humans gone wrong. Did it learn to fly at all?
Lucy: They are ugly at this stage, for sure. I haven't seen them since this picture was taken, but I know they're still alive. I see evidence of them moving around under the parents.
BB: Crows also seem to tumble about for the fun of it. No doubt there is a practical purpose to all their aerobatics, but sure looks like great fun to me.
Susan: I hope so, too!
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