Doves At Home In the Pines

by Karen Barchent
(Findlay, Ohio)

Doves Are Nesting in Our Pine Tree

The giant pine trees in our front yard have been a haven for many of nature's creatures over the years, and August, 2009 was no exception.

dove nest in a pine tree with adult dove feeding its young

Dove Feeding Young in Pine Tree Nest




I retired several months ago, so I have had the wonderful opportunity to be more observant of God's Beauty right in my own yard.

I recently joked to my friends that it must be a sure sign of getting old because the highlight of my Labor Day Weekend this year was filming a nest of mourning doves!

It wasn't much of a nest.

It was merely a few twigs which had been tossed together in an almost disorderly fashion, and placed on a large branch just above my eye level; however, the location could not have been better for bird-watching.

For days, my four-year-old niece and I were able to sit on the couch in front of the living room picture window to watch as the entire process unfolded before us.

Occasionally, I walked out to the nest, eager to get that "perfect photo", and the parents didn't seem to mind at all that I was so close to their nest.

We marveled at the speed at which those little babies matured once the eggs hatched!

One day they were just a little puff of down, and just a few short days later, their little heads popped up, their dark eyes darting here and there, eager to take in the world.

It actually took a bit of time to convince my niece's mother that they were, indeed, the same baby doves, when she saw them after a four-day lapse in time.

I was practically paranoid that I might miss something.

Every morning, I checked the nest, then quickly pressed "record" on the camera which I had carefully placed on a tripod at the picture window.

How "interesting" ~ about 3 boring video hours of two baby birds sitting in a nest sleeping, surrounded by summer insects; the buzz of cicadas humming in the background. Wow.

I did get some rather nice clips of them feeding, though, and eventually, they began to stretch and spread out their wings, as if to test their purpose in their lives.

One morning, on about day 12, I delayed my recording process for some reason, and in that half-hour span of time, you guessed it ~ they left the nest. How disappointing!

However, my husband quickly found them both amongst the flowers surrounding the front porch, and I was able to get some nice film footage and photographs before they left.

Unfortunately, I have not seen them since that day, but I am sure they are fine.

Comments for Doves At Home In the Pines

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Apr 29, 2012
Do the babies come back?
by: Nana Dot

My 5 yr old niece and I have been watching our doves up in our patio since they started building their nests.

I started to read the internet and was surprised to learn that the male is the one who nests during the day and the female at night.

We noticed the switch came every day around the same time 9 am and 4-5 pm.

Then one day my niece screamed, "Auntie I see the babies..two!"

Then we started noticing the parents trying to get them to leave the nest. First, they started nudging them out, then breaking down the nest.

Yesterday morning I noticed the babies were gone and so was the nest.

But today, in the last hour it seems the babies have returned to the spot, one of the parents came back to nudge them out again.

It is so interesting...Has anyone else seen this?

Sep 15, 2009
Awesome photos
by: Phyllis

Enjoyed your story and photos very much. They made me miss having a dove family this year.

Sep 14, 2009
Feeling Squirrelly
by: Anonymous

Years ago, as a joke, a colleague of my husband's gave him a squirrel from a taxidermist.

They named him "Steve" and he was a mascot of the municipal court where my husband worked as a bailiff.

When he retired Steve came to live with us and resides on our front porch. In the winter he dons a knitted cap and snow skis.

He holds a flag on Independence Day, and in the autumn he is surrounded by miniature pumpkin gourds. (It doesn't take much to amuse us. HA.)

When I snapped that particular picture of the baby dove, it looked as though Steve was peering over the flowers at him. I just thought it was cute!

Sep 14, 2009
AWESOME Photos!
by: Anonymous

Thank you! I thoroughly enjoyed your note and, especially, the awesome pics! But, do tell, what's w/ the squirrel? :)

I went through 3 broods this spring/summer (Irvine, CA) and never tired of the families.

I think they choose the yard they feel is safest and nature believes will support their efforts.

Which, of course, is true. They are awesome birds! So trusting...watching, but not judging.

We could all learn a lot from these delightful gifts of nature!

Thank you so very much for sharing!

The birdwatcher from Irvine!

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