A Wee Family Has Moved In

A wee family has moved in and their first-born has already flown the coop. Bobble, the baby Mourning Dove living in our hangy-down pot, left the nest and flew away Monday. After I chased the flying rats (pigeons)away a year ago, we have had the opportunity to watch Bobbles from conception, with new Bobbles recently brewing this week. I am now breeding Mourning Doves in the hangy-down pot garden again. Oo-woo-woo-woo, oo-woo-woo-woo is heard every morning prior to leaving for work, as Mamma bird tends to her second brood.

And for your reading entertainment, some information from Wikipedia on the wee creatures who are here to stay: I thought Mamma bird was done breeding. But she is on her second batch of Bobbles, with two eggs in the nest. I think one of the eggs in a bad egg from before, and the smaller one is a new and growing Bobble. I had the opportunity to see older brother Bobble fly away forever Monday. He hasn’t returned to visit the family or the old digs. I also had the opportunity to watch the development of Mama and Papa's relationship, from nest making, courting, the wedding :), Bobble’s birth, and then Bobble's departure away without even a goodbye. He just left Mamma bird and went off to new pastures or to find a wife of his own.

Some of the things I found out about Mamma bird and Bobble: She is one of the most common birds in North America; the Mourning Dove is a member of the dove family, Columbidae; and they eat mainly seeds, including those of both native and introduced plants. What is interesting is that there is a bird feeder right below Mamma bird’s pot. They don’t seem to visit the feeder, but go foraging into the unknown backyard for an hour or so at a time. The species is generally monogamous, with two squabs (wee young ones) per brood.

The habitats of the wee gray-brown creatures include various open and semi-open environments, including agricultural and urban areas, and our house. They moved into the pot and stayed. The species has adapted well to areas altered by humans and the bird is abundant, with an estimated population of 130 million birds. It is distinguished by its woo-oo-oo-oo call and its whistling of its wings as it takes flight. Can you imagine that it is capable of speeds up to 55 miles an hour? It is truely a strong flyer.

Mamma bird had just one wee little one, and maybe her second batch, another wee one. Both parents care for the young for a time. I have seen Daddy bird around visiting and feeding Mamma bird and Bobble. Mamma bird and Daddy both incubate the eggs, supposedly the male from morning to afternoon, and the female at night and the rest of the day. If they trade places during the day or at night, I haven’t been able to tell. It is apparent that this species is a prolific breeder. Pairs will often have several broods per year, yikes! In warm areas, one pair may have up to six broods a year!!! That’s twelve Bobbles a year!!!! They are busy!!! Population control? Mr. Hawk. Uh-oh!

Ok, after chasing away the pigeons in the rafters of the house a year ago, what is the difference to watching Bobbles being created and the cooo-cooo-cooo outside the Travel Room? Well, Mamma bird and Bobble are not as messy, they are not in the roof of our house making a unsanitary condition where the Environmental Health Department would have to come out, they fun to watch and grow, and it is just like Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel in the backyard, without predators gobbling up hundreds of Bobbles in a scoop.

I have also noticed that reproduction courtship begins with a noisy flight by the Daddy bird, followed by a graceful, circular glide with outstretched wings. After landing, Daddy will approach Mamma bird with a puffed out breast, bobbling head, and loud calls. Mated pairs will often cuddle and preen each other's feathers, as they have done in neighboring pots. The clutch size is almost always two eggs. Mourning Doves are devoted parents; nests are very rarely left unattended by the parents, and I have noticed this too, as I work in the backyard, and they are watching my every move. They watch with excitement and bob up and down, wanting me to go missing.

Incubation of birdies takes approximately two weeks. It seems as if Bobble brewed a little longer. Mourning Doves are strongly altricial, with the young, called squabs, being helpless at hatching and covered with down. Bobble looked like this and was very cute bobbling up and down with his mouth open, waiting for nibbles. Both parents fed Bobble for the first few days of life. The crop milk is gradually augmented by seeds and adult foods. Fledging takes place in about two weeks, before the baby is fully grown but after that they are capable of digesting adult food. They will stay nearby to be fed for up to a few weeks after fledging. Bobble seemed to rear fast after being born, feeding, and then flying away. Maybe he was in there eating and bobbling for a while and I didn’t notice, maybe he wanted to move to a new secluded community, more rural and rustic, or maybe he wanted a faster paced life scavenging at Bagel Me or Macaroni Grill, instead of our humble home?

Now Bobble is gone and on his own. He will have to find his own pot and wife-bird and the cycle of life continues. This experience has been interesting, to see Planet Earth in the backyard. The wee family has moved in to stay, and now I get to watch the action with amusement again. Do you want to see what is growing in the backyard? Come on over and see the new Bobble and his proud parents.

-S