Plight of the Mourning Doves

A Tragic Story of New Life and Life Lost

A Mourning Dove (Zenaida macoura) is a 12 inch long, slim, slate colored gray-brown bird with a small head and a long, pointed tail. The most abundant dove in the United States, the Mourning Dove is also the most widely hunted and harvested game bird. The name comes from the familiar, although easily overlooked song, a low-toned moaning cooah, coo, coo, coo. This dove, found across the United States and southern Canada, is most common throughout the Great Plains in the Midwest.  Typically, two eggs are laid in a nest made in an evergreen tree, although a wide variety of nest sites are used, including clumps of grass and apparently like flower boxes on balconies. Thankfully for these little guys, doves cannot be hunted for sport in Connecticut and most of New England, through not the case for the vast majority of the country.

Mourning Doves on the Balcony

A Nesting Battle - One I Couldn't Win

June 27, 2001:

I go out to water my flowers on my balcony. They weren't looking too great and I had inadvertently neglected them for a day or so. Wait, they are not looking so hot because somebody or thing trampled them. "What's with all these damn twigs and sticks!" I said to myself, "Grrr!..." Thinking its the beginning of an English Sparrows nest, a non-native bird and pest which has taken over much of the breeding sites for native bird species like my favorite, blue bird. I tear the debris out of the flower box and toss it off the balcony. "That'll teach 'em," I mutter under my breath to myself and continue watering the plants.

June 28, 2001:

It's another hot day and time to water the flowers again. The sticks, twigs, and nesting materials are there again in the same third floor porch flower box. This time, it looks more like a nest so its definitely a bird. Its probably not a English sparrow, since its too neat and doesn't contain garbage and debris. Again, hoping to discourage the little suckers from nesting and further damaging the flowers, I rip the debris out and throw it off the balcony. This time, there is also a bunch of loose twigs in the other box. Like the previous one, there is some twigs in the middle of the flower box. I take them and put them in the garbage this time. I think I need to ask a coworker, Donna, next week about what she thinks about these little vermin. I bet she'll know what kind of bird is tampering with my impatiens.

June 29, 2001:

I return to again water the flowers and It looks like I have won the nesting battle. My impatiens are no longer trampled and have bounced back after a day of watering. No signs of any more nesting activity. Phew!...

July 1, 2001:

I go out on the balcony to cook up some hotdogs for dinner. A bird takes off like a "bat out of hell" and the little sucker scares the crap out of me with its swooshing retreat! "Damn pigeons!," I think. "I should have known."

Incubation

July 2, 2001:

Flower watering time... After work, I go out onto my balcony to tend to the flowers.  Again this bird scares the crap out of me, swoosh and takes off. That's weird, two days in a row. I wonder what kind of bird it is. It looks like a dove, maybe its one of those "morning doves." I don't think twice about it and water the flowers. When I get to the box closest to the door, I see a little egg. No nest mind you, just a stick or two in the bottom of the flower box and a little white egg about an inch in size. Amazed, I run inside to get my digital camera. I take a few pictures. Now even more curious than before, I do an Internet search to try and determine what kind of bird laid the egg. I was unsuccessful in finding anything on a "morning dove."

After about an hour, the adult bird returns and camps out in the impatiens on its nest (or lack there of) with one little egg. Hmm. I take some more photos and send them to a coworker; she's the bird expert and lives in the 'burbs. While I am waiting for a response, I try to do a little more Internet investigative work. I think to myself, maybe its "mourning dove" as in wailing and crying not as in the "am hours."  Eureka! I find some materials on this bird. Shortly thereafter, Donna has looked at my pictures and has a diagnosis. I have a case of the mourning dove. It confirms my suspicions. 

I go outside again and check on the little sucker. It takes off again. I go back and look up some information on the web about them. I also learn about their call. Its kind of ironic because Devin, my "little brother," had asked me about the owls that live in the day time and make this coo cooing noise. I had told them it wasn't an owl since they go whoo, whoo, whoo and it was probably another kind of bird. He of course asked which kind and I told him I wasn't sure, but I told him that it might be a pigeon. Well, now I know its a mourning dove call. Click here to listen to the mourning dove's call (a .wav player is required to listen). 

I check on the nest periodically and by midnight the bird hasn't returned. Thinking to myself, "Oh boy, I hope I didn't scare it off for good. I don't know anything about raising chicks!"

July 3, 2001:

Concerned about the adult bird not returning to the nest the night before, I check on the egg before I go to work. I walk out onto the balcony and phew, a bird is in the box. Testing the birds patience and tolerance, I get closer and closer. Finally, it takes off. The egg is still there, but wait now there is another present, two little white eggs. Mom had laid another one. At least the bird won't grow up a single child. You know sometimes these single kids get spoiled and turn out to be brats! Now, how am I going to tend to the my precious flowers with a nest and eggs in the box?

July 4, 2001:

The birds are kind of skittish. I can't go out on my balcony without having them take off. Its not so bad though, at least I can still water the flowers so they don't croak in the heat. After scaring off Mom (a rather easy task, I just open the door to the outside), she watches from the roof of the apartment building next door as I water the plants.

About 15-20 minutes later she comes back and sits on the eggs.

July 5 - 14, 2001:

Not much action. After some research, I learn the doves are monogamous and will make a pair bond until one of them dies. I also learn that in urban settings they are often found nesting in flower boxes. I didn't have this problem last year. It must be a result of the change in flower type -- impatiens instead of last year's pansies. I read that Dad sits on the nest most of the day during the "working hours." He then gets a reprieve and can hang out all night chasing other doves while Mom sits on the nest for the rest of the day, all night, and the early morning. The pair changes guards once in the morning and once in late afternoon. Dad punches in around 8:30 AM.

As the weeks go by, the birds become more comfortable with my coming and going out the balcony/porch door. I can come and go without them as much as flinching in the nest. I am also able to get closer to the nest each time and they don't move. I talk to them, they just stare at me with their jet black beady eyes. You can hardly see them sometimes; tucked away in the middle of the flowers.

July 15, 2001:

Devin meets papa bird for the first time. Devin was fascinated by them and asked all sorts of questions. Why are their eyes all black? How come its not moving? Why did it pick your flowers for a home? etc. Again, we are able to get really close. Devin was able to reach out and touch the dove's tail feathers. The mourning dove didn't move. Of course, he wants to see the bird take off. Finally, Devin manages to scare dad away by making a loud noise and moving quickly towards the nest. When I asked why he scared the bird, he said wanted to hear the swooshing noise that I told him about when they fly away. Click here to listen to their flight. We both look into the nest. The two eggs are still there. No sign of any breaks or cracking. By my calculations there should be little baby birds any day now. Devin loses interest after a short time and dad returns to sitting on the nest

July 16, 2001:

No new developments. The pair continue to take turns sitting on the nest. Changing of the afternoon guard takes place around 4:30-5:00. Dad gets a reprieve after a day of sitting and Mom takes over for the evening. Mom's the one on the railing. Dad's still in the nest. They are right outside my kitchen window.

July 17-18, 2001:

I don't hear any birds chirping out of the nest or anything. Nothing looks any different and the birds continue to just sit there on the eggs. It doesn't appear as if anything hatched. The babies must be due any day now. According to a couple of sites on the web, doves incubate their eggs for about 13-14 days or as long as 15 days. The should have hatched by now.

The Babies Arrive Via a Dove Not a Stork

July 19, 2001:

At this point, I am getting a little concerned about Mom and her eggs. It's day 16 now and there have been no sign of any hatching babies. No egg shells, nothing. So after work, I go out onto the porch to investigate. Mom looks different as if she has gained weight or something.  By this time, Mom and Dad are very used to me. I can go right up to them and they don't move an inch. I've never gotten so close and since I am close, I think mom has at least one baby under her. I  touch her tail feathers several times and she doesn't even move! I jiggle the balcony railing ever so lightly to see if I can jar her from the nest and have her take off so I can check out the eggs. Still she doesn't move. Finally after a few, ok a whole bunch of rail shaking (kidding!), she gets nervous and takes flight. Wouldn't you know, there they are, two little baby doves. She was sitting on them. She didn't get fatter, the babies just made her look bigger.

They look so helpless. Huddled together in the nest. I have never been so close to such young baby birds.

Since they are two slightly different colors, it looks like one baby arrived a day or so earlier than the other. That would also make sense since one egg was older than the other. Kind of ugly looking huh and so fragile. The are leathery like with what looks like hair (of course its not hair) but it looks that way.

Their eyes are still closed. They are pretty big, about 1 1/2 inches long. They must have been there for a few days because there is no way they were that size in the 1 inch egg. After about 5-10 minutes, Mom returns and assumes her position sitting on them and protecting the babies. 

I imagine that the birds hatched a day or two ago. Now, I will have to wait about 2 more weeks until these little buggers can fly. I guess I can postpone doing too much on the porch. I haven't seen either parent feed them yet. I had read earlier that the parents feed the babies pigeon crop milk (AKA pigeon puke). Sounds yummy huh! The papa bird produces more of this goop than mom does.

July 20, 2001:

Nothing new to report. The pair continue to sit over their babies protecting them. You can not see the babies under the adult. Still no noises from the little guys.

July 21, 2001:

Feeding takes place usually after the changing of the guard as well as anytime the adult leaves the nest and returns. I watched the babies feed from my hallway window a few times, however I was not able to get it on film. The parents have become more protective of their young and are easily distracted. 

The hatchlings are now about 3-4 days old. They are still a little awkward in moving around and have a tough time holding up their heads. Eyes are now open and they are extremely quiet for newborn birds. I haven't heard a peep out of them! This pair awaits the return of their parent and feeding time!

If you look very closely in front of the adult dove in the picture above, you can see the little baby poking out underneath the adult's belly. The parents are having a tougher time keeping them underneath them since they are growing so quickly and are a little more mobile. The baby just received a dose of pigeon crop milk. New hatchlings will consume the crop milk (think of it as pigeon throw up consisting of seeds, grains, etc.) entirely for the first three days and eat every few hours. Got pigeon crop milk? A new ad for the milk industry. I hear its quite nutritious! Want some? Did you know that the male dove produces crop milk 4-6 days longer than the female? Pretty weird, glad I don't produce milk!

July 22, 2001:

The babies are left more and more exposed in the nest as the days go by. Usually at least 1 can be seen while the other is covered by the adult.

They are about 2-3 inches in length and about 1 inch in width now. The one on the left is clearly the larger of the two; the little guy on the right is sleeping. Shhhh!

The larger hatchling must have been the first born or he's been hogging all the food. He's much bigger than his sibling. The feathers on the hatchlings are still not fully developed.

July 24, 2001:

I checked out the birds before I went to work. I was amazed how large they grew, almost overnight! It must be the breakfast of champions that the 'rents are feeding them. Wow! Who needs Creatine to bulk up? Try pigeon milk for a week. The pigeon milk, which contains more protein and
fat than cow or human milk, is the exclusive food of the nestlings for several days after hatching, and both adults feed it to the squabs (a fledgling pigeon) for more than two weeks. The parents continue to try and sit on the babies to keep them warm, but when the adults are on top of them, it looks like the adult bird has gained 5 lbs. Here's a picture of the little tykes, who are about a week old now.

The smaller one is in front this time, with the larger sibling behind. They kind of look like a human teenager, a little gawky and kind of hideous. They are kind of leathery with tufts of feathers coming in (see like most teenagers) and their beaks are fatter, shorter, and duller than their parents. It's amazing that they will group up to be a beautiful dove in a year or so.

Nestlings to Fledglings - A Week Goes By

July 25, 2001:

The parents are beginning to spend more and more time away from the nest. Prior to today, an adult was almost always found with the babies in the nest. The hatchlings are beginning to be transformed into fledglings as their feathers grew in within the last day and a half. Their heads are still rather bald and they look like mini vultures!

The pair continue to grow and look more and more like the adult though their feathers are more multicolored than their parents. They are approximately 5 inches in length and unstable on their feet. Pretty soon they'll be taking their first flight!

July 27, 2001:

It has been a month since my initial attempt at discouraging the birds from nesting in my flower box. As you have read on this page, I was not very successful and I've grown to like them. The mourning doves are now about a week and a half old and covered in feathers. Unlike the adult birds, the young doves are covered in black spots and are a darker brown. The nest is beginning to stink and I have a feeling its due to them having transitioned to real pigeon food (seeds, grain, etc.) that the parents feed to them. At least my flowers will get a little pigeon fertilizer!

The fledglings are pretty cute now, though when I go near them to take a picture they click their bills as if trying to bite or scare me. The parents stay with the young for several hours and forage for an hour or so too before returning. There is not much room for all three of them in the tiny overgrown impatiens nest.

Mom settles in with her little squabs around dusk for the evening. The fledglings are still small in comparison to the adult. Woops, sorry, its a little out of focus!

A Tragic Ending

Later on that evening, around 10:15 PM, I discovered a black and white stray tomcat sitting on my porch staring up at the doves in their flower box nest positioned on the railing about three feet off the ground. I had seen this cat on other occasions on my balcony and immediately chased the cat away. I assume it was a stray because it was easily frightened. I hate cats (ok I like cats -- DEAD ONES)! Again joking, but I am not a big fan of felines! The scared cat ran down the stairs and vanished into the night. I did check the nest and saw mom in there. I didn't notice any fledglings, but assumed they were ok since the adult was present.

Around 11:00 PM, I heard a rather odd noise coming from my balcony. It was almost like someone or something had jumped outside my door and I could hear the railing shaking. Reluctantly, I rushed to the kitchen and from afar peered around the corner towards the window thinking a person was out on the porch. No one was there, so I ran to the window and knew in my "heart of hearts" the cat had returned and had probably tried to jump up to catch one of the doves lying in the nest. I prayed he was not successful! Out of my kitchen window, I caught a glimpse of the savage beast running away towards the balcony steps to descend to the ground floor. The cat had a helpless mourning dove in his mouth as he fled. I ran down the hall to the balcony door and out the door in pursuit of the cat, but he had disappeared into the darkness. I could not tell if it was a squab or the female adult that the nocturnal carnivore had captured.

I returned upstairs and checked the flower box. Sadly, the babies were gone, mom was gone, and the nest was empty. The only sign of the family that had been tenants on my porch for a month was some poop (alright, lots of poop and a few fluffy feathers it was kind of stinky). The flowers were trampled in the box and I was afraid, the cat had eaten them all in a matter of seconds. I've never been a fan of feline's and this just took the cake! The photo above with mom and her fledglings was the last taken of the little guys, around 8 pm, earlier in the evening.

Rest in Peace

Around 11:50 PM, the cat returned looking for another quick meal. I was a little relieved because maybe, just maybe some of the birds got away. Again, I frightened the stupid cat away.

I never did get to naming the little tykes as Robin, a coworker, had suggested. In some respects, I wished I had. Unfortunately, the little fledglings never made it on their first of many maiden voyages. They were so close and would probably have flown in another day or two. I can only hope that at least mom was able to get away and that there was at least a glimpse of hope that one of the fledglings was able to fly and flee the savage serial dove killer that arrived at night.

The first year mortality of mourning doves quite high. According to some research that I had read, approximately 7 or 8 out of 10 birds do not survive the first year. In my case, at least 2 out of 2 didn't make it more than two weeks and maybe the adult was gone also. Average annual mortality in a stable population is estimated at about 60%. Mourning dove mortality is caused by a variety of factors including predators, disease, accidents, hunting and weather extremes.

A Day of Mourning and Reflection

July 28, 2001:

In the morning I awoke around 10 am to the sound of the mourning dove's call. It was an eerie call today since it echoed between the buildings in alley. I had not heard the call around my apartment for some time before. While I laid in my bed, listening to the dove's somber call, I began reflecting on the story of their short life. A story, not much different from our own.

Doves are monogamous creatures as are most humans. They mate for life and are devoted parents. They feed their young milk (though a different kind of milk) for the first few days of their lives as humans do. They provide shelter and raise a family with whatever means they can. As people do, they care, provide for, and protect their young to help them prepare for a life beyond the nest. It is a story of devotion, A story of peace in a harsh landscape. The story of these little doves too is not unlike the story that children deal with every day. A story of violence in a harsh world, but also a story of peace and love. A story of devotion to partner. A story of love for one's offspring. A story of the harsh realities of living in an inner city. A tragic story of love and life lost. A story of grief, sadness and sorry, but also one of new life and rebirth. A story of grief and mourning a loss. A story of gentleness.

The calls continued throughout the day and around 1 PM, I was in the kitchen talking on the phone and cooking some lunch (OK, breakfast). As I talked with my mother on the phone, an adult mourning dove landed once again on my balcony railing. It stood there for about 15 minutes walking along the railing and calling out. I do not know if it was the female dove calling for her babies or if it was the male calling for his perhaps deceased partner. Since in most birds, males do the singing and calling, I fear it was the male calling for his dead partner and believe she too was killed by the cat. It looked at me for a few minutes through the window, then flew off the balcony for the final time.

The call continued on and off for the remainder of the day. Much of the calling took place from atop the building next door, overlooking the balcony flower boxes and former nest site.

From this rooftop location next door, the call continued for about 30 minutes. It would stop and then shortly thereafter, I could hear the dove calling farther away in the distance as if trying to find and be reunited with its lost loved ones. Every 30 minutes or so, the adult returned to a perch atop the apartment building next door and continued its somber, echoing, sad call into the alley. The calls finally stopped around 4:30 PM after more than 6 hours.

Why They are Called Mourning Doves

Despite the tragic ending and an inconvenience for a few weeks, I am glad the pair of doves decided to  become tenants on my balcony. Although their lives were taken only a short time after they arrived on the earth, I was able to get a glimpse of such a beautiful, little, peaceful bird. Now finally, I have learned why they are called mourning doves and not "morning doves," as I mourn the death of such a beautiful little animal that is so much like our own selves. 

Rebirth: The Sole "Crash" Survivor

July 29, 2001:

In the afternoon, I was doing my laundry. I exited out the balcony door and descended to the ground floor. When I turned the corner for the bottom landing, I saw a mourning dove fledgling sitting on the railing. It was one of the two hatchlings that lived on my porch. I was ecstatic! They family wasn't all dead and a baby was able to fly and escape the cat! I approached the little tyke and he quickly flew off. I had finally seen the fledglings fly (it wasn't too great but it flew nevertheless). 

July 31, 2001:

Around 6 PM, I left my apartment out my side balcony door and was again pleasantly surprised to see the surviving juvenile dove. Again, he was sitting on the railing, but this time on the 2 1/2 floor instead of the first. An adult dove was keeping an eye on the teenager from the building rooftop above. The juvenile sat on the railing for a bit and then decided to try to make it to the roof of the building next door, a full one story higher than his current location. He must have wanted to be near the adult. Well, he didn't quite make it and fluttered up against the next door building for a bit and then smashed into two of the windows (darn Windex!). After realizing he had no place to go and up wasn't an option on his little wings, he did a nose (or is it a beak?) dive, straight down to the grass at the base of the building. I rushed down the stairs to check on him. He was ok, just a bit shaken. So now, I've named him, appropriately, Crash. 

Crash sat there for a little bit garnering up some strength and flying over to a car rooftop (he at least made it to a roof, not 'the roof' mind you, just 'a roof') about 25 feet away and a comfortable 4 feet off the ground. I was able to watch him from my a street side apartment window. Crash camped out on the Volvo's roof for over an hour and got quite a lot of attention from the passersbys. People stood there staring and talking about him. Finally after 30-45 minutes, crash flew off just before the sun set in the city. I never saw him again...

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Listen to a Mourning Dove Call
Mourning Dove Call - Coohoo coo coo coo
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