Spring Babies

Every morning we listen to doves waking up around us. As the sun sets, numerous--maybe nearly 100--doves come to spend the night in the mesquite tree next to our RV. If we happen to go to that side of the trailer after dark, the noise of all of those birds flying away is amazing. This is the tree where they spend the night.



And now the doves are trying to multiply--maybe they are like rabbits? In a nearby tree this mother dove is sitting on a nest.



Two years ago I took pictures of a mother dove with babies in a tree near the Visitor Center.





But not all doves are smart enough to build their nests on a stationary object like a tree. Earlier this week one kept sitting on the front of our truck and John wondered if she was laying an egg. I said, "Surely not. She doesn't have a nest there." Well, I was wrong. The next morning, this is what we saw. Not much of a nest, but, without a doubt an egg.



And the next morning, a little more nest and two eggs!



We can't leave the truck parked till the eggs hatch. What to do? Today, John moved the nest and eggs into a small plastic tray and placed that in a creosote bush. He used tongs so his scent wouldn't be on the eggs.







Will Mama find her eggs in the bush and care for them till they hatch? We don't know, but this location is certainly better than them flying off somewhere as we drive down the road.



On a related note, there is a pair of Great Horned Owls that live in the roof over Casa Grande Ruins. They have been sitting on eggs in the nest for several weeks and within the last week or so, one or more baby owls have been born. We just wish we could see them from the ground, but they are too high up.