The nest that was being built yesterday now has the mother sitting on the nest and I don’t know if there are eggs there yet, but she never left it the whole time I was out there watching at breakfast and afterwards. Thus I assume that it is the male still bringing sticks/twigs to the nest in the third photo below. I think it is unfortunate that she chose to build the nest inside the palm frond with the possibilities of high winds through February, but nothing I can do about it. In an earlier year an Inca Dove built a nest in a smaller tree’s palm frond and she lost her eggs, but this one is more protected, so maybe safe. See the linked blog post at bottom, “Mother Dove Abandons Nest in Wind.” You can see it all in nature!
¡Pura Vida!
Adorable!!!
Love the nester! I have a Mourning Dove nesting in a succulent on our back porch. The couple are back from last year same time and place. This year she laid in the plant and did not build a nest except for a few twigs for “appearances”. These birds are beautiful in flight but awkward on the ground. I love to watch them try and build a nest. In most cases it blows away so I am glad this year they found a place to nest without having to build one. Also, they are the only birds we have that stand in the bird feeder and walk and eat. Other birds only go into the feeder when the fruit gets low and they cannot stand on the rim.
Yes Trey, they are beautiful birds and the most common dove here. I’m concerned about the safety of the nest in a palm frond with the winds sometimes getting strong here in Jan-Feb, but this one seems a little more secure than an earlier one by an Inca Dove that was destroyed by wind. Nesting birds are fun to watch! 🙂
We have had several nesting doves in our backyard, I love watching them!