The Mourning Doves built a nest in one of my pine trees and I was able to watch them from inside my house. A few days ago I saw one of the doves sitting on the nest and out of nowhere I saw a blur fly in and snatch it off of the nest. Feathers were flying everywhere and I found one of the eggs on the ground broken. I’m sure it was the Northern Harrier.
I still have another pair that stays in my yard so I hope they will be able to raise a family.
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Steve, I hope the other pair of doves are able to rear their young.
Fingers crossed Mia!
Sorry to hear about your doves, but an exciting event to witness regardless. Yesterday I watched a fish crow steal eggs from a nest in my yard. Not sure who the nest belonged to, but I have a feeling it was one of our pairs of cardinals by the location and timing.
It is amazing how fast things like this happens. Thanks for sharing Elijah.
We have a pair of these in our back yard – not sure where the nest is. We call them the backyard bumbling fools. They just don’t seem to be quite as with it as the other birds.
Raptors gotta eat, too!
Steve, sorry to hear that you are Mourning the loss of your dove..
I’ve witnessed a dove take down by a hawk too… it was an awesome sight… sad for the dove, the hawk and his offspring had a good meal that day. it’s life.
My resident cooper’s hawks get the doves in my yard all the time. I find “feather puddles” quite often. Luckily there are a lot of mourning doves here. Even a couple eurasian collared-doves.
Beautiful bird. I like to hear them in the yard. Will the surviving bird set any remaining eggs?
Miriam, I am sure that the eggs were destroyed and I have been watching the nest but no Dove has returned.
Oh no … I know doves are easy targets for raptors. My fingers are crossed for the other dove couple.
Thats awful! Hope the other couple makes it.
Sorry to hear that. We have quite a few wood Doves here. They sit on the roof of a shed outside my kitchen window. No raptor kills that I’ve noticed. I enjoy the quiet beauty of the doves. And their call is comforting to hear.
I do enjoy the call of these Doves.
Oh geez. What a sad story! Glad to hear you’ve still got a family there to concentrate on, my friend. Great shots here!!
Steve,
In the past, I’ve bought wheat by the 50lb bag from the Farmers’ Coop for seeding pastures… about $7.00 per bag. The doves love it! They got so tame from eating the seeds I broadcast that they wouldn’t even fly away when I walked by. I’ve noticed this when emptying the sunflower seed sacks in Spring, so moths won’t come to my house. The doves seem to find the seeds on the ground almost immediately, though I never see them at the feeders. I love to hear them cooing in the evening! Good luck with your other pair. Great pictures!
Beautiful shots and interesting read.
I live in NYC and love that mourning doves have been nesting on the sill right next to my desk for 4 years now. The AC is in that window and every year I vow to unseal the window and clean off the sill. Then the beautiful MD’s come and I just can’t destroy their home!
However, her last three attempts to brood have been a disaster. A huge crow has been stealing her eggs, one at at time. Today, he/she got egg #5. I think 2-leggeds have had too much dominion over other species, so I don’t want to get too involved in bird culture, not my business. However, there have been many incidents of positive interaction between humans and other species, too. This bird (s) chose to nest 2 feet from me and I’d like to help if it’s not too invasive. Any ideas of how to redirect the crows?
Taken from this link: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Crow/id
Crows are crafty foragers that sometimes follow adult birds to find where their nests are hidden. They sometimes steal food from other animals. A group of crows was seen distracting a river otter to steal its fish, and another group followed Common Mergansers to catch minnows the ducks were chasing into the shallows. They also sometimes follow songbirds as they arrive from a long migration flight and capture the exhausted birds. Crows also catch fish, eat from outdoor dog dishes, and take fruit from trees.
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[...] I Lost A Mourning Dove – a wonderful pair of images is punctuated by a sad story from Steve Creek. These images as posted really bring this beautiful bird to life, and are well worth the time to visit and view. [...]