Finally a Good Look at the Baby Mourning Doves

I have been checking on the doves every day. Yesterday I caught them without the mom, but they were very hidden between the leaves. I never want to disturb them but brushing aside the leaves, so the photo above was the best I could get.  There are just two chicks. I thought there were more.  I went back to the photos on March 9th, and only 2 eggs are in the picture.

This morning, I looked at them again. Mom was sitting with the chicks, and I could only see one chick. After returning from Pt. Isabel a few hours later, I checked on them again. Yahoo!!!!  Only the 2 chicks were home, and I was finally able to get a clear photo of them! I can't believe how much they have grown in eight days! (see photo from March 20th). They are now completely covered in feathers. Pretty soon they will be learning to fly!

Mourning Doves Chicks Are Here

I first discovered the nest on March 9th. On March 18th or so, I thought I saw some movements in the next under mother dove.  I wasn't sure because because mother dove was still sitting on top of everything. On March 20th, while the mom was away, I had a good look of the nest. The chicks are definitely here but they slept a lot and were not moving much. On March 22nd, I saw chicks moving next to the mom.  Everytime I try to get closer to the nest by reaching over the porch, the chicks seem to hold completely still. I am sure that's the defensive mechanism to reduce attention from their prey.

I got a glimpse of mother dove feeding the chicks and was able to take a short video of it.  I don't want to bother them too much. I know the mom's eyes are always watching me. She is extremely alert.

Baby Chicks Are Getting Big

I visited the 3 chicks next door on October 12th. Today I went to see them again, and they seemed to have doubled in size once more. They are starting to look like chickens although they still make the cute baby chick noise. As usual I picked one up and held her on my chest. It has so much more feather now. She's warm and fluffy.

As soon as they saw me, they just stood in place staring at me. As soon as I stepped away further, two of them started to run around in the small coop and playing with each other. They can make big noise as they jumping up and down in the wooden coop and pecking on the metal heating lamp. The owner of the chicks are planning on moving them outside into a bigger coop this weekend because they are just getting too noisy and messy in the small confinement. 

Three Chicks

One of my neighbors brought home 3 chicks recently. Since they are just babies, they stay inside in a homemade cage right now. They are super cute, and they make the cutest noise. I love holding the chick in my hands against my chest. It's so soft and warm. I hope the neighbor is keeping them for eggs only. I wonder how Dusty and the chicks would react to each other. I have seen many homestead farms that keep rabbits and chickens in the same coop. They tend to get along well and keep each other company.

Dinner Time