Peter

I had a mourning dove nested just outside my kitchen window, ( which is, by the way, my office ), though there is no electronic noise , ie, printers etc. except for my acoustic guitar, ( I'm a songwriter ) all very mellow, not loud or raucous.

Now to my point. My little dove left her nest with two unhatched eggs still in it two days ago as of this writing. Is there any hope for these unborn chicks? Why did she leave them? We did have a new fence put in just the other day and that was definitely a lot of aggressive activity around her nest, though she seemed alright with it and did not get excited. So it is a mystery to me. Note, these doves have been visiting our backyard for at least ten years, could they be the children of the original settlers? Thank you Susan, - Peter



Comment
Hi Peter. Yes, the odds are that they are the same bird family that comes to your yard every year. The home instinct is strong in birds - once they have a home, they will return to it every year.
As to why she has left the nest, you are not the first reader to write in about this occurrence. Possibly the dove knows that the embryo is not formed properly? I'm just not sure.
Susan