The last clutch (2 for the species) left home just over a week ago. I went out to check something and found one fledgling (in first flight feathers - no hint of adult colors) on the ground about 10’ horizontal from the nest. I picked it up and put it back in the nest (doves do NOT reject young touched by humans).
As I was adding (blindly) a half-cup of seed, it freaked and flew out - it was a strong flyer, so I didn’t worry.
Then I noticed the other a few more feet away.
I guessed the parents had kicked them out.
Today there is an almost-adult dove in the nest - the head has adult feather (female), but the body ( a bit over 3/4 full size) still has the fledgling feathers.
Q: Do the dove young try to return to nest in hope of getting parent’s care again, or is this probably a new female? I have not seen either a male nor any nest-building (this is a shallow box open at the front edge - a pretty-much perfect ready-made nest.
Any ideas what is going through is brain?
I can tell you that the pigeon squabs that hatch and grow up out on our balcony do often try to hang around. The longest has been five months. We have one out there now that’s been here for three months. The parents try to chase them away, but they don’t want to leave yet.
It seems this is common enough. The chicks hang out, and the parents come by less and less. And, after a few weeks, the parents refuse to feed them altogether. Almost the same thing happens to many 18 year old humans…
I was surprised that these do not try to avoid me - maybe because the nest is directly over the patio door, and they see me entering and leaving from the time they are large enough to see around the parent.
There is an (unused - I can’t swim) pool just 10’ from the nest. I found one in the pool about 30’ away - almost it all the way. Good thing it didn’t - there is an unpleasant dog on the other side of the rear fence. This is when I discovered a dove will take human handling (at least known humans).
Thanks for the tips!
Yeah, I have always wondered how doves survive until I read that web page. They seem way to slow and gentle and house cats murder them like crazy. But now I know how fast they reproduce and grow. Two weeks from hatching to flying…
Pretty much all birds will not reject young that’s been handled by humans. That’s just a myth.
If it has some juvenile feathers left, then it’s a young that fledged from that nest. Many fledgling birds will follow the parents around or even return to the nest in order to be fed. Smaller species birds may be fed by parents away from the nest for a week or two, but for big birds like raptors the young may hang around in the vicinity of the nest for up to a year.
It should be mentioned that it’s “Mourning Dove,” from its mournful call, rather than “Morning Dove.”
Damn! I hare when people call them “Morning”. Especially nasty is the fact that this burg actually has a “Morning Dove” street.
I’m shot.