The Kitchen Sink Weblog: Tales from Sun's internet facing edge

So mama bird is definitely a dove. June must be their nesting time, check out this story of a dove family The blue ring around the eye was the identifying factor that confirmed it for me. However our home decorating friends had it wrong, baby doves don't just hatch into little birds that sit upright. They hatch into little tiny birds that barely move, let alone hold up their heads. I was surprised that they were that much like humans.

We know this, because our dove family had the misfortune to encounter the painters that the association had hired to repaint the patio walls. The painters didn't get at first what I was trying to warn them about. But when mama bird flew away, disturbed by the racket, we all could see the little birds lying helplessly in the nest. During the day she kept trying to stick it out on the nest but many times the commotion the painters were making with moving trelises and ladders was too much for her. I thought about moving the hanging pot but was afraid that could be a bad idea. For all I know she wouldn't recognize it once moved.

After the painters left, it was at least a week before we saw the baby birds poke their heads up. I was worried as I thought we had disturbed them too much. But nature perserved.