Flight Risk

A couple of weeks ago, a mourning dove took over the robin's vacant nest on our grape arbor right outside our dining room window. Since then, we've been on full dove watch, and got super excited when the tiny baby emerged.

And then as the parents moved out a bit more to make room for the nest, we learned there were really two babies.  While I know some people actually hunt these things (what for, I might ask), we have been spending countless hours watching them hang out.

We watch them hobble around their nest.

We watch them preen.

We even check out their butts when that's all we can see in the grape arbor (that is in desperate need of a trim, but we can't touch until the birds leave it alone).

But Mama is always there with a careful eye on us, cooing her sweet coo when she feels safe.

A new nest has been built within eyesight of the old one where the parents are hanging out.  And the way the babies are flapping their wings and flitting little by little around the arbor, we expect they'll be gone by the end of the weekend.  But it's been really sweet to watch them.  And if we don't get any grapes again this year, oh well.  I guess we didn't have to wait until Christmas to get our 2 turtle doves this year.