A FAN OF DOVES
Mourning Doves at Home-- at My Home
The fun thing about a major household move is the continual discovery of how things are. And now I’ve discovered how things are on my covered patio:
Doves like to nest in patio fans.
It’s okay for now. It’s too hot to use the back patio anyway in these 100-plus degree Arizona days. It’s always a couple degrees hotter because its right out the back door and two walls of the house block any cooling breeze. Hence the ceiling fan.
The temps didn’t matter to a pair of doves though. They set up housekeeping right away.
The design of some fans, such as my own, has an open bowl which houses the motor. There is a wire-type device that was placed in the bowl to discourage birds but these doves were determined. Problem is, a nest in the motor section is a fire hazard.
So here I was, three months ago, staring at that fan while mama dove looked down at me. I needed to get that nest out of there. But I don’t have a ladder and don’t want one. ’m supposed to stay off of ladders.
There’s actually a bigger issue revolving around removal of that nest.
I’ve moved a lot over the years. I know the joy of having a home that is just right. I know how hard we’ve worked to make a house a home. I decided there was no way I was going to yank her nest out of the fan.
Baby dove isn’t ready to leave the nest yet
One Smart Bird
With that decision, I had time to watch the circle of life in that little home in my fan. As I watched I realized how smart the birds are. They know how to pick a home.
They could nest in a tree. Many do. But those nests are subject to wind, rain and predators. But the ceiling fan? Perfect.
· No rain
· No direct monsoon winds
· No bobcats and coyotes invading the nest
Doves hang tight when they’re nesting. Those little mamas don’t move for anything when sitting on eggs:
Leaf blower: Mama still there.
Earth-rocking thunder and lightning: Mama still there.
Landscapers dumping gravel out of wheelbarrows: Yep, Mama is there.
She’s always aware, assessing danger. Whenever I look out of my window at her, she is already looking back. She watches me as I move about the patio. We stare at each other. I talk to her. She watches calmly, but doesn’t budge.
Two baby doves almost ready to leave the nest.
Wait—What? Residents For HOW long?
Now it is mid-summer and dove mama has raised three broods. She’s working on a fourth. So the fan is still there. She looks at me with that angelic, gentle stare. When I ask her when her fan residency will end, her look says, “when I’m ready to stop.”
Well, I needed more than that so I headed for the internet to get a clear answer. The numbers below can be slightly different since there are several species of mourning dove.
· Mom AND dad take turns in the nest
· Doves can have 5-9 broods per year with 2-3 eggs per clutch
· They incubate the eggs for 12-15 weeks
· When the eggs hatch, the babies take about 12 days to become fledglings and leave the nest
· The parents stop feeding them to encourage their leaving the nest
· Once they leave the nest they are helpless and grounded for up to 4 days
· The parents hide them in landscaping or the woods until they are strong enough to fly
In the fall when I’m sure they are done with their home for this year I will have the fan removed. I may not put a new fan up. There are many trees and large shrubs in the yard that could house the birds. And since doves can live many years I want to encourage this. Just in case I decide to put up a new fan.
I am going to miss my front row view of this bit of wildlife and the devotion to survival of the species.