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Bill G. writes: “I drastically trimmed a huge holly bush today. Discovered a dove on her nest with some youngsters under her. I had left her rather exposed, so I put some branches back and she flew away. Been hours. What can I do?”
Before I had an opportunity to respond to Bill’s question, he wrote again: “Momma dove is back!!!!!”
This is good news. Mother birds usually come back to their nest if you give them enough time and space. And mourning doves seem to be less bothered by human presence than other birds. Most birds would probably not tolerate humans close to their nests, but mourning doves often seem unperturbed by people going about their business even a few feet from a nest. A person even 6 inches away will usually not flush a mourning dove off a nest. In fact, one study found that about 17 percent of nesting mourning doves stayed on their nests until they were physically touched.
Although historically mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) were found in open fields and forest edges, they have adapted to life in cities and suburbs. They are seed eaters, consuming 12 percent to 20 percent of their body weight daily in seeds they find on the ground. They especially like sunflower seeds, so if you have sunflowers in your yard, you might also find mourning doves nearby. Their beaks are not adapted to cracking open shells, so they eat seeds shell and all.
Mourning doves are one of the most abundant birds in North America. Although hunters kill as many as 70 million yearly, hunting mourning doves is illegal in Massachusetts – our birds are safe until they migrate. Hunting mourning doves is also illegal in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, but people hunt them in Rhode Island and most other states.
Mourning dove nests, as Bill G. might have noticed, tend to be flimsy and minimal – just a few twigs cobbled together without a lining. These birds often build nests in trees, shrubs and vines, but sometimes they even nest on the ground. They have been known to build on top of tree stumps or on the nests of other birds. Although mourning doves can nest at any time, nesting occurs most often from May to July. These doves have been known to nest in grape arbors, rain gutters, on top of air conditioners (the noise does not seem to perturb them), windowsills, satellite dishes, flower boxes, outdoor grills, ladders, traffic lights and just about any flat surface that is somewhat protected. Once a mourning dove nested on a student desk in a dorm at Wheaton College in Norton! The student left his window open so the birds could come and go.
Don’t think mourning doves are lazy just because they build such flimsy nests. All animals conserve energy as much as possible. These doves may expend less energy building than other birds, but they expend more energy producing crop milk. Many birds hunt insects to feed their hatchlings, but mourning doves – male and female – produce this nutritious food in the throat pouch known as the crop; hatchlings eat these fat-and protein-rich curds directly from it. Each parent produces enough milk for just one bird. Therefore, female mourning doves lay only two eggs in a nest. At first, the chicks consume nothing but curds. After a few days, the crop milk contains more and more softened seeds. Crop milk is so nutritious that young mourning doves grow quickly: They increase their weight 30-fold in only two weeks. They are able to fly and leave the nest in only 12 to 14 days.
Mourning doves in Massachusetts have two or three broods per year, but early nests are often destroyed by windy or rainy spring storms. About three hatchlings per year survive into adulthood.
Slightly more than half of adult mourning doves migrate south for the winter and about 80 percent of juvenile birds. Juveniles begin to fly south in late August and September, followed a little later by adult females. Adult males depart last. Many males overwinter instead so they will have first crack at claiming a good breeding territory in the spring. Thanks to backyard bird feeders, overwintering birds have become more and more common – but mourning doves are not adapted to our cold winters, and sometimes they lose toes to frostbite
Winter snow or ice can cover food and water, and doves depend on surface food – their feet are delicate and not adapted for digging through ice or snow. They can survive only three to four days when food and water are covered. Due to harsh winters, cats, hawks, cars, buildings, hunting and diseases, only about half of all adult mourning dove adults survive into the next year. The three most common causes of death are cats, cars and buildings. Wild predators, diseases and hunting are less common causes in our area.
Mourning doves are light brown with red legs, but you can distinguish males from females – the male is slightly larger and slightly more colorful. He has a patch of blue feathers on the back of his head and a rosy breast.
If you, like Bill G., should find a mourning dove nest in your yard, give it a wide berth for a couple of weeks. You can safely observe the bird family from a distance. The hatchlings will grow quickly and be out of your yard before you know it.
Have you taken photos of our urban wild things? Send your images to Cambridge Day, and we may use them as part of a future feature. Include the photographer’s name and the general location where the photo was taken.
Jeanine Farley is an educational writer who has lived in the Boston area for more than 30 years. She enjoys taking photos of our urban wild things.
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