Currently, we have a pair of mourning doves nesting outside our kitchen window. They're very peaceful and beautiful. Their nest is also a thing of beauty composed of twigs and bits of twine they gathered from somewhere in the neighborhood.
We've read that the nesting season will only last a few weeks, but it's an exquisite sight.
Caroline's reading up on how to encourage the doves to nest in a different window in the future (one outside the garage), which is a less active space that they might find more restful.
But the place they've chosen is fairly well hidden and the birds blend in almost invisibly to the house.
Two small white eggs with a violet sheen form the "clutch", as I've read is common. How these birds can stand the yapping dachshunds I have no idea, but I guess they're used to the mixed sounds of nature and culture.
Photography: Jane Roberts, Strange Phase Studios
(Please mouse-click on photos to enlarge.)
For more on the mourning dove, please see here.
House finches often make nests on little platforms on my front porch, which may have been put up in the corners for that purpose by a previous homeowner. I felt bad that they would fly off everytime I went on my porch, so I started using the side door to leave them in peace. Funny the things we do to accomodate wildlife. However, the mailman had no compunction about noisely clomping up on the porch to deliver mail and since he was kind of cranky, I didn't want to ask him to tiptoe or something. He often misdelivered mail to the wrong addresses anyway, which meant everyone had to redeliver mail in the evening and didn't want to complain about him for fear we would never get our mail. So I accomodated the postman and the birds. What can you do? as we say in Jersey.
ReplyDeleteI (and the rest of my household) am currently banned from our ground floor powder room. As you say, what can you do? Hope to see you in a couple of weeks. Curtis
ReplyDeleteHow lovely, Curtis.
ReplyDeleteWe once had a pair -- a couple, in fact -- living in a tattered old pittasporum out front.
(A moment of silent mourning for all lost mourning doves).
Good morning Tom. Thanks. They're lovely. That being said, an old friend sent me a funny (I'm sure he was trying to be funny) email saying that we were doomed and I was mistaken in believing that our doves would ever leave. He recounted some family history in great detail (and he's from this area) indicating that it was time to abandon the homestead, pull up stakes and leave no forwarding address. He may also have mentioned the high cost of educating doves in the 21st century. His message was clear. It's the doves' house now; we're just tenants. Curtis
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