Mourning Dove

Early one morning during this past week I slipped outside to check my flowers to see what was destroyed by the previous night's storm.  As I strolled past a big rock, I was startled when two mourning doves suddenly flew up in front of my face.  I stopped and looked down.  To my dismay, I discovered this small baby mourning dove hiding up against the rock.  It's mom and dad were protecting it and I startled them away.

I immediately called for back up.

We checked the tree branch above and saw this nest right above the baby.  Was this where it lived before it fell? Should we put it back?  How would we get up in the tree?  We decided to get a ladder and together, gently slip it back in the nest.

Then we noticed a second nest in the very top of the tree.  Was that the right nest?  We do not have a ladder tall enough to reach that high.  What if there were more babies in the nest?  Would we accidentally harm them climbing up?  We realized we were unequipped to handle this disaster and decided to do what we could.  We brought Scooter into the house, then peeped out the windows and watched.

Sure enough, Mom (or Pop) flew back down and covered the baby with their wings.

We continued to watch.  The day wore on, the sun began to set and Mom did not move.  Sometime before nightfall everyone disappeared.  We hoped they had found a safer spot.

Yesterday Bill informed me he saw Mom walk under my wheelbarrow and slip inside in a clump of weeds beside my flower bed.  We assumed baby was safely hidden under it.  He said he would not mow the area and I agreed to not weed for a while.  I am always willing to avoid weeding, for a good cause.  Hopefully, with everyone's help, this little baby will soon fly away.  Perhaps, before it leaves, it will remember to say thank you to Mom on Mother's day.