Sally and Twigs Zenaida are a pair of mourning doves that decided to rear their young just outside of and above my cat Lucy's and my bedroom. This was first mentioned in this post. If everything were to go as nature has planned they would be expecting the first of two eggs to hatch within the next couple of days. However life has a way of throwing a wrench in the works with unexpected events or situations that disrupt plans or expectations. So far, I have witnessed two such events for Sally and Twigs. Right now I'm hoping things worked out in such a way for the second event so that their second egg remains viable. I'll provide a brief explanation.
The first egg was probably laid early morning on March 31st. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs for about 14 days. The male usually incubates during the day, and the female at night. So far this has been my experience. However, as the sun moved toward the horizon on March 31, I believe I may have inadvertently disturbed Twig's shift on the nest by bringing a low profile ceramic bowl of water out nearby the nest. He joined Sally on the other side of their walled enclosure and under bushes in front of the house less than five yards away. They had seen me inside their area before and, in fact, they probably observed my behavior around the house for at least a couple of days before I realized what they were up to. They were both under a large, weeping Eremophila bignoniiflora bush that's just behind the driveway. I had even pulled my car out of the garage with them there on at least one previous occasion. Be that as it may, I went around the house from the other side after what I already thought was too long to be off nest and observed them from the other end of my driveway, just inside the pedestrian sidewalk and close to the street. I was approximately 47 feet away from them and they took off. They flew so far east of me I basically watched them disappear. That was my first heartbreak. At the time I had no idea if a first egg had been laid. I discovered there was indeed an egg when I carefully reviewed some sloppy video recorded on my phone, frame by frame, a couple of days later. They were back early the following morning but of course that egg was no longer viable.
Fast forward to two nights ago, around 3:30 AM, Friday, April 11th. There was a commotion up on the nest that was so loud it woke me up. I'd describe it as mostly wing fluttering from the nest and ultimately I heard the sound doves make when they take flight which is called a wing whistle. I panicked in my stupor, ultimately grabbing a flashlight and going out the front door to the front walkway. My first thought was Sally had been accosted by a rat. The nest was empty but it also looked undisturbed. I have a camera that covers this area out to the street. I didn't see any events recorded. It's not unusual though for stuff to record to the camera and not always get picked up on the software. Yes, it's a cheap camera, I'd like to replace it. Well, I checked the camera again last night before bed and lo and behold there were recordings of me going out twice with my flashlight (I actually went out three times, one incident didn't record) and there was also a recording of a raccoon coming down from the roof. I don't believe it's at all possible for a raccoon to reach the nest but it obviously got close enough to disturb Sally. My hope is that Sally came back in time to maintain viability of the second egg.
Time stamps are in the upper left corners but are probably hard to read. Me with the flashlight is 03:35:03, this was the first time I checked, there were additional noises that had me go out again. The raccoon was obviously still mulling around, I believe on the adjacent roof of the garage. His timestamp here is 03:08:05. Behind me and the jerk raccoon is the Eremophila bignoniiflora bush which has just begun flowering. As always, click the image for a better view.
Here are some more pleasant moments with the doves. I will state again, all photos taken of the birds on the wall were taken from inside the bedroom through a dirty window. I will also mention again that mourning doves are prolific breeders, capable of raising up to six broods per year.
March 31st. Twigs, day one on the nest.
April 1st
Twigs. They do come down off the nest for a few minutes from time to time.
Sally. This is the approximate location the first time they got spooked and both flew off. So, again, days before and at times like these they were perfectly fine with me nearby. I was over 45 feet away for these photos. Do you sense I don't want to take complete responsibility for them taking off and leaving an egg overnight?
Twigs. The dish had Dimorphotheca sinuata seed in it. I looked it up and it was fine for the doves but I don't think either one touched any. By late evening I had a huge bag of wild bird food delivered.
This is Sally, taken close to 7 PM. They seemed to transition on nest sitting duty a little past sunset right around the last hints of daylight. There are some markings that defiantly indicate to me which bird is which. They're not always obvious.
April 3rd. Twigs. I had to go in and collect the water dish which went out front with the bird seed dish. He was fine with me here.
Sally, this was taken from my side yard. I was taking out some trash and she was up on the pinnacle of the roof over the center of the kitchen. She hung out in this spot for over 20 minutes.
April 7th. These are all Sally, shortly after 7 PM. Notice the inbound sparrow in the second shot.
April 8th. Twigs having some of the bird seed I put out on the wall. I stopped putting it there since there were so many other birds coming in. There's plenty of seed out in the dish and surrounding area under the Eremophila.
That's it for now. The gaps in photo taking were up to them. It was been significantly warmer for a couple of days and perhaps they had a preference to be down below and in the shade rather than up on the wall. I just took a break to check my mail and upon opening the front door I saw one of them at the edge of the driveway just under the Eremophila. I stopped, didn't check the mail and closed the door. I didn't get a good look but considering it was only 4:15 I'll assume it was Sally.
If you read all of this do me a favor now. Think good thoughts for the one egg still being viable. Ya know, they say... Having doves nest at your home is often seen as a positive omen, symbolizing peace, love, tranquility and new beginnings, with some cultures associating them with good luck or a sense of calm and harmony to a household and the remembrance of loved ones.
Ultimately, the "something special" the doves are offering me (and Lucy) might be less about grand symbolic meaning and more about the subtle, everyday benefits of having nature close by. I would like to think there is something to them choosing a spot right outside the bedroom even without subscribing to traditional symbolic interpretations. In our often busy, human-centric lives, having wildlife so close can be a gentle reminder of the natural world that exists alongside us. It's a chance to observe the rhythms of nature--right outside my windows. This connection is grounding and provides a sense of perspective. The soft cooing sounds and the gentle movements of the doves create a subtle, calming atmosphere, contributing to a feeling of peacefulness in my environment, even if I don't consciously attribute it to "peace." This is a connection I need right now, it brings me sanity when I don't see a lot of that happening in the world.
I am the ocean, lit by the flame
I am the mountain, Peace is my name
I am the river touched by the wind
I am the story, I never end
