Baby Zenaida

 Part three in the story of the lovely couple of mourning doves, Sally and Twigs Zenaida, who chose to make a nest just outside and above my bedroom windows. It's Lucy's bedroom too but, of late, the house is warming up and Lucy is choosing to retire to her chair and bed in the living room. She's probably relieved to get away from dad's snoring. 

For the most part I have tried to leave the doves alone and have only glanced at the nest on a few occasions to make sure one of the birds was on duty. There was quite a bit of concern over there being a viable egg after the two events described in this post from April 12th. Yesterday, April 24th, I got real curious about Sally's and Twigs' behavior. Both birds were nearby but away from the nest. Ultimately neither bird was directly attending to the nest for well over an hour. Somewhere in between I went out and attempted a few photos while standing on the front walkway outside of the wall with my arms and camera hanging inside the dove's area. It's dark and very difficult to see up to the nest for most of the day. I did go inside on April 19th to grab a hummingbird feeder, fill it and then return it. I didn't even look up at the nest as to reduce any avian anxiety over my presence. The feeder had been empty for about a week. There are at least three hummingbirds that I've known for quite some time. I was feeling guilty about ignoring their feeder. It went perfectly well. 

Back to yesterday's photo attempt. Mourning dove squabs (baby mourning doves) make soft, high-pitched sounds that are often described as "peeping" or "wheezing." I have heard none of that. Yet, we have a squab. This bird hatched on April 14th or 15th. So it's 9-10 days old in this image. I haven't come up with a name yet, It would be nice to know the gender first. Mourning dove squabs, typically fledge (leave the nest) around 12 to 15 days after hatching. They are able to survive on their own within 5 to 9 days post departure. After fledging, they may remain near the nest for a few more days, often returning to roost at night, before eventually leaving the area completely. 

Here's mom Sally about 45 minutes earlier, when I was trying to figure out the back and forth between her and daddy Twigs. I thought I may have gotten pictures of both of them but nope. Again, pictures of birds on the wall are taken though a dirty window from inside the bedroom.

They take away and they give their life as they live
The living's right to live, it's all that we need to give
The living's right to know...

 PS,