For the past month or so Greg and I have noticed a pair of mourning doves hovering around our back porch (well really it is the size of a stair) and they seemed to be specifically interested in the black bag on the end of Greg's bike. A couple of times I found a few twigs on the bag, and it would be pushed in a little from them sitting on it. I would tell Greg that I thought they were going to build a nest. We have even moved the bikes to go for bike rides and still when we put the bikes back, the birds came.
Last night after work I was reading in the bedroom and Greg came and told me that he thought they really did build a nest and that there was an egg. I went to look out the window and here is what I saw looking at me.
We startled the bird a bit and she stood up for a moment, and sure enough, there was an egg.
So this morning I have been watching the doves. One dove sits on the nest and the other one has been bringing her twigs. She has been working on building their little home. What a homemaker!! :) I'm just about at eye level with her when I'm on the computer so we have been staring at one another for a good part of the morning. It is one of those moments when I wonder what she is thinking as she sits there all day. Or is she just sitting there by instinct? Then I ponder instinct, and realize that I really need to work on my own home. I'm actually really enjoying watching them and I'm excited for the baby birds to come. We are hoping it is a good omen that our home is fertile :)
I decided to look up some facts on mourning doves and these descriptions described our birds exactly:
- During nest-building, the female stays at the nest and the male collects sticks. He stands on her back to give her the nest material. She takes it and weaves it into the nest. Maybe that's why the nests are so poorly built!
- The Mourning Dove almost invariably lays two eggs. Clutches of three or four are the result of more than one female laying in the nest. A dove may have up to five or six clutches in a single year.
- A Mourning Dove pair rarely leaves its eggs unattended. The male usually incubates from midmorning until late afternoon, and the female sits the rest of the day and night.
- Nests: Flimsy platform of twigs, pine needles, or grass stems. In trees, tangles of shrubs, or vines up to 50 feet. Rarely on the ground. Sometimes in hanging flower pots or other man-made structures.
Well, I'll keep everyone "posted" as to how the new little family is doing, and I'll work on my amazing National Geographic shots.
After 
A little closer 
