My doves in hanging fake plant!

by Sandy Blackburn
(Attica, IN)

I've have had doves living around the house for several years.

The first year she built a nest on top of a window air conditioner... a strange but very unique place for a nest.

She had managed to secure the twigs inside the vents on top and it truly was not going to go anywhere.

One problem, she built it next to the stairs and a cat got the babies.

The next year, she got a little smarter, she chose a hanging plant under the porch.

It had a fake plant in it, I can't keep plants alive, so I gave up on that years ago.

The fake Boston fern seemed like an ideal nesting site until it too was too close to the stairs and the cat got the babies.

The next year she got even smarter..and moved her nest to the fake spider plant a few feet away from the stairs, and far enough away no cat could reach them! Ah success!!



She has raised from 4 to 5 clutches each year since.

One day my husband parked too close to the hanging plant and yet again...a cat used the car to climb on and reach the planter, the planter was torn up, the doves were gone and we were all very sad.

I honestly didn't think they would come back so I never bothered to rearrange the planter... I just let it hang there, all askew looking sad.

Guess what? They came back! But their nest was precariously perched at the edge of the basket and I was afraid they would fall out but luckily they didn't

As soon as the babies flew away, I hurried up took the planter down and rearranged the plants to the outside, leaving the middle nice and bare for nest building, the fake plants on the outside will help protect eggs and babies from being tipped out.

No sooner did I hang it back up, they were back, and are currently building nest #2! I have many pictures over the years of their efforts!

I love the doves! My clients coming to my dog grooming salon love them too! They are quite the conversation piece outside my back door!

Birds and Blooms	Pioneer Woman	People Magazine	First For Women