Nikki’s Photography

Some of the Seagulls in B.C. have wheels.

It’s a wonder that doves have survived to evolve as far as they have. For one thing, their nests are flimsy. They are also more comfortable nesting openly near humans than any other wild bird, as far as I know.

Today this chick and it’s parent were sitting on the curb beside a very busy street. When I came too close the mother tried to fly across the road, and appeared to be injured. Judging from the experience of doves nesting in the wreath at our back door last year, this chick is not ready to fly yet either. I suspect that they both fell from the nest, and wonder what are their chances for survival with all the cats, dogs, people and vehicles in the vicinity?

I’ve set the large sunflower seedheads out near the back door, with the telephoto lens on the tripod set up inside. Here’s one of the first photos of a series. This male looks a little rough around the edges; his beak has worn thin…he must be old.

This is the second time around for doves nesting in the wreath by our back door. I’m sure it’s the same pair who devotedly cared for two eggs, taking turns in shifts as they are now. The chick in the second thumbnail is from the first brood hatched in May. It mysteriously disappeared after two days and the other egg didn’t hatch. There was no trace of that chick anywhere..no body, bones, feathers..nothing. It was not old enough to fend for itself. Did other birds carry them away to eat I wonder? or ate them on the spot? or could the parents have eaten them? We do have Anoles, but I would expect that they would be too small to manage a comparatively large egg. A mystery.
Maybe there was something wrong with it, or the parents were first-timers. The lizards and salamanders around here are too small to eat a meal that size, and other birds would not have been brave enough to come so near to the door I don’t think.  Nature takes care of itself though, so no tears! Hopefully these ones will survive and we can watch them mature. Sept. 3rd:One of the chicks hatched!

There were about six Starlings on the roof overlooking the eavestrough, which is not usual for them - at our house anyway- so I’m thinking maybe they are interested in robbing the chick from it’s nest. Maybe they  were the egg-robbers from the first nest.

Sept. 4th update: The chick appears to be so much larger today, and it’s the first time I’ve seen it so exposed. It seems so vulnerable on that small flimsy nest.  Sept. 5th: The chick has been left on its own a lot in the past 24 hours, also becoming quite vocal.  The other egg is unlikely to hatch. Sept.9th: The nest is overcrowded. When the parent sitting on the chick is up in the air above the nest, it’s time for little chicky to leave!

It’s so funny when the parent sits on top of the chick trying to hide it - there is hardly enough room for two in the nest, and she/he is not fooling anybody! The chick ruffled its feathers and snapped its tiny beak at me when I took these photos - how sweet is that?! - the survival instincts are strong. Sept. 12th: Fortunately I walked out just in time to see the chick fly from the ground to the fence nearby. There it remained for about 90 minutes then it was gone.

I wondered where it would be sleeping that night, and if it was truly on its’ own now without parents, and how it would survive. Less than a month before it was not even in the form of an egg!! Sept 13th: ..didn’t expect to see it again, but while sitting outside at dusk, there they were, the mom (or dad) and chick. It was so pleasing to see them sitting on the fence together.

Sept16th: I still see the little one come into the yard, much bigger now. It is smaller than an adult, and I’m sure that must be the same chick.