# Babies on the way



## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

We have babies on the way. No, not havs, these are wild bird babies :becky: Hubby was cutting back the palm tree and found out there was a nest in there after he cut away the fronds hiding the nest :doh: Hopefully the eggs will be ok. I don't know what kind of bird it is but it's gray and when it opens its wings you can see orange or dull red on the edges of the wings. I don't know if it's Mom or Dad but don't think they're very happy about losing their cover. :fish:
There's a close up of the eggs then a picture showing that they're pretty much out in the open, then Mom or Dad on the roof trying to figure out what the heck happened to their happy home.


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## peluitohavanese (Nov 8, 2006)

It's a dove. There are all kinds of them I don't know the specific name, but we have theme up here also.


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## Lunastar (Feb 9, 2009)

Very cool. We have these doves here too.


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## mellowbo (Aug 12, 2007)

Teaser Jan!! I was looking for a puppy announcement, lol.
Carole


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

mellowbo said:


> Teaser Jan!! I was looking for a puppy announcement, lol.
> Carole


I wondered if it was a dove but wasn't sure. It let a little swallow sit right next to it by the nest so I really had no clue then.
NO puppy announcement here!!! I want a nice long break from puppies after that oops litter that gave me 2 litters on the ground at the same time. Maybe next year or the year after.


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

peluitohavanese said:


> It's a dove. There are all kinds of them I don't know the specific name, but we have theme up here also.


Do you think the eggs will be ok? Hubby put some palm tree stuff over part of the nest but it's not hidden well.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

Jan

That is exciting! I love the pictures you took. My kids would be going beserk if we had a bird's nest w/ eggs in our backyard, I'd have to tape the area off with 'do not cross' police tape. lol They'd touch them 

You are getting pictures of the hatching, arent' you?


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## Lunastar (Feb 9, 2009)

They should be fine, Jan. I'm sure they are watching the nest


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## marb42 (Oct 19, 2008)

What a cool thing to watch! I hope it's a Dove.
Gina


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

It's a Mourning Dove. They make a calling sound that sounds like mourning. Unfortunately for them, they are the dumbest birds I've ever seen. They will build a nest on the ground or where a cat can get them when they are nesting. They are very common around here. Hopefully, they will tend to the eggs still.


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

That's so cool, I've never found a nest around our house. I do see large squirrel nests in some of the bigger trees and we have tons of birds. I'll have to keep looking!


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## Lunastar (Feb 9, 2009)

The mourning doves also don't fly real well. Very clumsy birds. We have actually seen a few fall out the trees.


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Thumperlove said:


> Jan
> 
> That is exciting! I love the pictures you took. My kids would be going beserk if we had a bird's nest w/ eggs in our backyard, I'd have to tape the area off with 'do not cross' police tape. lol They'd touch them
> 
> You are getting pictures of the hatching, arent' you?


A nest kind of freaks me out. When I lived in So Ca there was an owl couple that had eggs in the same tree next to my house every year. We'd set up a light to watch them at night and wait for the babies and they'd look over at us like we were the show <G> All the neighbors would sit out there every night and watch them.....and every year the same thing would happen. The babies would last quite a while then we'd find them on the ground dead from the high fall. They were so darling to watch but we'd all wind up with a broken heart.
I guess i could put a bell out there that Mom could ring to let us know babies were hatching  We keep an eye on them so you'll get updates. Have your kids seen the eagle cam? http://www.wvec.com/cams/eagle.html


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Lunastar said:


> The mourning doves also don't fly real well. Very clumsy birds. We have actually seen a few fall out the trees.


:fear:


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Havtahava said:


> It's a Mourning Dove. They make a calling sound that sounds like mourning. Unfortunately for them, they are the dumbest birds I've ever seen. They will build a nest on the ground or where a cat can get them when they are nesting. They are very common around here. Hopefully, they will tend to the eggs still.


They're still on the nest and have covered it so it's not wide open for all to see. The cats around here know the dogs go out in the yard and usually stay out of here so we'll see. Mom or Dad sits right there on the nest even when we go up to it. I try to stay back though so she or he isnt upset. Then again they let a swallow sit right next to the nest with them and didn't run it off. I found a website with the sound the dove makes. I'll have to listen to see if I hear it. You can hear it here http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/sounds/Zenaida_macroura.html


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Ah yes, those two sounds are definitely the mourning dove. That first sound (62.9 KB) is the sound they make when they are frightened away from a perch, a feeder, a nest, etc. It's a frightened/bothered sound. The second sound clip (71.6 KB) is the sound they make when calling to each other. I suspect it is more of a mating call than anything, so you may not hear that one much anymore if they are already on eggs. That's the sound for which they are named, the mourning sound.


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Havtahava said:


> That's the sound for which they are named, the mourning sound.


I still haven't heard it but listened to another type of bird this morning. There were two that were calling to each other.....or maybe having a fight, who knows, I don't talk bird :biggrin1:
She's there all the time so I don't get pictures of the eggs. Here's a picture from today


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## Lunastar (Feb 9, 2009)

Great shot. We have alot of these here, so we hear the cooing all the time. Thanks for the Eagle cam link.


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Lunastar said:


> Great shot. We have alot of these here, so we hear the cooing all the time. Thanks for the Eagle cam link.


A bunch of us used to watch the Eagle cam together each year and I forgot about it until my daughter mentioned it. The babies look almost ready to leave the nest.
Momma just doesn't want to leave the nest so I can see the eggs but she'll let me stand very close to her and talk softly to her and she doesn't seem upset. Maybe because she's used to us.....or dumb?  This is from a couple minutes ago. I was so close that I had to change the camera to auto to get a clear picture of her.


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## Lunastar (Feb 9, 2009)

I guess someone is suposed to be sitting on those eggs so they will hatch. LOL Great photo. She is letting you get real close.


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

*They're here*

I guess those 2 things of gray fur are the babies. They look like they are fur balls and not feathered but baby birds I know nothing about. Hubby got too close to her (ha, guess she likes me better) and she flew off. Sheesh, she has kids to take care of and just leaves. :kev:


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

I looked up Mourning Doves and here's what I found. Seems they'll be off and gone in a couple of days!

http://www.african-butterfly-home-decorating.com/doves-nest.htm


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

That's so cool, you guys are lucky to be able to watch that!


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

*babies and lightning*

Busy day with the camera. I got more pictures of the babies and a few shots of lightning. Auto doesn't work for those things so I'm even learning the camera! Who knew that was possible  If you click on it you'll see there are 3 strikes in one
If you click on the bird picture it gets larger so you can see that they're getting feathers where fur was and their eyes are developing. We can see beaks on them now too.


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Scooter's Family said:


> That's so cool, you guys are lucky to be able to watch that!


You get to watch too through pictures


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

JASHavanese said:


> You get to watch too through pictures


And I'm so glad, thank you!


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Here's day 3 of the little ones. Momma bird likes me. :hug: I can stand a foot away from her and talk softly to her and she just sits there. If hubby tries that, she takes off.....but that's when I get pictures of the babies 
There's the hind end of one and the head of the other. The eyes are looking like real eyes now.


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## Lunastar (Feb 9, 2009)

Jan what great shots. Those little feather hairs are so delicate. Love the shots of the lighting too.


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Day 4 of the babies


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

Their feathers are so odd! Cuties, love the close-ups.


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## Mraymo (Oct 30, 2007)

They're growing so fast. It looks like they have plastic brillo pad for feathers. I've never seen baby morning doves.


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Mraymo said:


> They're growing so fast. It looks like they have plastic brillo pad for feathers. I've never seen baby morning doves.


I was expecting naked babies and was really stunned at the fur. It's baby fine and seems so soft. Not sure though because I don't want to touch one in case Mommy kicks it aside if I do.
I've never seen them before either. It's pretty neat watching them, especially since they're right at eye level.


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## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

We have baby robins and baby sparrows. The robins are a bit too high for me to see very well, but they are getting big. The sparrows are so tiny. They are about four days old now and are starting to look more like birds. I have been trying for days to get a picture, but they are all blurry. The nest is small in a pine tree and I can't get a good focus on it. I will try again because they are so adorable.


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## Lunastar (Feb 9, 2009)

Oh great shots. What sweet little babies.


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## Janet (Feb 19, 2007)

I think what you have is an Inca Dove.


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Janet said:


> I think what you have is an Inca Dove.


That might be. I looked them up and they talk about the red you see when they're in flight and I didn't find that when I looked up Mourning Doves. It sounds more like a Mourning Dove though so I'm stumped. 
I think she's a single parent. There has been no male and usually they mate for life so I feel bad for her. We've been feeding her so that she doesn't have to work so hard to find food and doesn't have to leave the nest as much.
She will not leave when I go right up to her. I stand there eye to eye with her talking quietly and she stays on the nest. I put the camera right next to her and she still stayed so I figured since she takes off when hubby goes too close that I'd wait for him to get home so I could get pictures of the babies. Sure enough, as soon as he got 2 feet from her, off she went and I swooped in with the camera


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

ivyagogo said:


> The nest is small in a pine tree and I can't get a good focus on it. I will try again because they are so adorable.


It's hard getting clear shots of them! I've had to try all different kinds of settings to get clear pictures of them. Isn't it fun watching them?


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Day 7 if I can upload a picture with a messed up pc from a bad storm yesterday grrrrrrrrrr


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## marb42 (Oct 19, 2008)

How cute the babies are!
Gina


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

With your better pictures of the adult dove, I don't think it's a mourning dove anymore. She has a slightly different body and different markings. I am curious to know what an Inca dove is. Never heard of those.


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## Kathy (Nov 9, 2006)

Jan,
Great pictures!!!!!!! Mom is beautiful. How fun to watch them grow.


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## Lunastar (Feb 9, 2009)

Wow look how the feathers are already starting to change. Great shots


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Havtahava said:


> With your better pictures of the adult dove, I don't think it's a mourning dove anymore. She has a slightly different body and different markings. I am curious to know what an Inca dove is. Never heard of those.


She has the sound of the mourning dove yet I think you're right and she isn't one. She's got the red under the wings when she is in flight and I didn't see that about the mourning dove. It sure is fun to watch the babies grow though. Here's a picture of them Friday. They have lost most of their fur and have real feathers now. It's amazing that I can stand inches from them and watch them. They just sit there and watch back


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

I think I took the Nikon camera for granted. Hubby took pictures with his old digital camera and there's no detail at all in them. I still miss a camera I can just throw in my purse though


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

*Last picture of them in the nest*

I went out to take a picture of the babies and momma was sitting on them. I snapped a picture and then mom _and babies_ flew off. One baby did a pretty good job of flying, the other still needs training but sat in the middle of our neighbor's yard for a few hours instead of going back to the nest. We've tried to watch for smaller birds or mom and haven't seen them since yesterday when I took this as I was walking to the nest. <sniffle>


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

Thanks for sharing this Jan. I've never been fortunate enough to see this in person, it was lovely.


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## Mraymo (Oct 30, 2007)

Aww, they're all grown up. It was nice to see them grow. Thanks.


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Thanks for watching them with me Marianne and Ann and others. It was fun watching them grow and it's neat to be able to look back in here and see the eggs then the birds.


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