Dennis called from work today worried about the bird, again. She had been sitting on her egg since...we don't remember how long, but it sure seems like it should be long enough. He worries about her everyday. I knew he would. That is why I was a little upset when I saw another bird building a nest again on our porch last month.
He said this morning when he left for work he did not see her in her nest. While on the phone this afternoon he asked if I knew where the bird was. Erin and the girls were here giving me an early Mother's day gift...so Elora volunteered to go check for the bird. Still gone.
Just the one egg sitting there all alone.
I had to stand on a chair to take this picture.
Dennis asked me, "Do you suppose the bird just got tired of sitting there on her egg and finally said the heck with it and flew away?"
No, I told him, I don't think nature works that way.
He tried so hard this spring to keep that mother bird and her one egg safe. He still had the board in place from last year so the cat could not hop from the roof to the tree.
He even put a tablet of chlorine on the bricks to keep the cat away. He doesn't like the smell of chlorine so he thinks the cat wouldn't either.
You have to look really close to see the tablet sitting on a Tupperware lid
So what do we do now about that egg sitting all alone without it's Mom to protect it?
We're both mad at our cat.
7 comments:
That's sad. You should google Mourning Doves. It doesn't sound like your bird is a mourning dove because usually there's 2 birds. Mama & Papa they take turns. One by day and one by night. This story you tell so well remeinds me of one of Dee Dee Paulines last lesson for us in an outdoor Enrichment night. She likened the doves to us and building your home on a strong foundation so the forces of nature and predators can't get us. (lb)
I just googled like you suggested and the Mourning Dove looks just like the bird that was in our nest. If you go to a post I did in April you can see a picture of the bird...the post was called Trying Not to Mess with Nature. Google said the incubation period is 14 days. I wonder if the bird noticed there was something wrong with the bird...maybe it would be a still born, so it just gave up and flew away? Maybe it's not the cat's fault after all?
Jill
Dennis is such a sweetie! My dad had a dove build a nest on top of one of his latters under his covered patio. He took pics of the Momma bird every day and posted them on our family web site. Our children all looked forward to the day the eggs would hatch. He was amazed at how close the Mom would let him get to her and not be scared enough to abandon her eggs. The eggs hatched. Dad would post pics of the babies growing and keep all the children and grandchildren updated on their progress with pictures. Then one day my dad announced there would be no more pictures and he refused to tell us (esp the grandchildren) what happened. I got the story out of him. My Dad went out, just like he did every morning to see how they were doing. The babies were outgrowing the nest by now. Momma bird went out for food. I guess the baby birds decided to fly out for their mom. My Dad witnessed a hawk fly down at the exact time the baby left the safety of the covered porch. The Hawk snatched that baby bird mid flight and was going so fast that it couldn't avoid hitting the fence. The hawk fell down but quickly recovered and went off with a nice breakfast. My dad said he cried a little. So sad.=( Anyway, if somebody reminds me of my father it is the highest compliment I could possibly give. Sorry for the long and not so happy story.
I love this blog! You certainly have a way with words, and can tell a story most effectively. My mind is still churning on the content of my introduction for the blog. Maybe I should adopt your dad's philosophy about walking, just put one foot in front of the other and repeat the process. "Just Do It," but I'm still contemplating. Love, Susan
Mom, that was the funniest thing you've ever written. That last line had me literally laughing out loud. Very fun story.
Krista, Your dad sounds very much like Dennis. I also think they have had similar trials in life. I'm glad you wrote what you did because I wasn't sure anyone would relate to this post.
Susan, Part of the fun of blogging is the churning that goes on before. Just remember you can always change your mind later. You are in charge:)
And thank you Brock. It was so funny yesterday when I was on the phone with Dennis, and Erin said, "We need to play Circle of Life for Dennis."
Jill
This is so funny! We had a duck make a nest in our back yard, and it was right by the door! We named her "April", since it was April...I know, not very exciting, anyway she had 12 eggs, we were all excited, we wouldn't go in the back yard for fear of chasing her off, anyway, one day, she just was gone.....that's it, never came back and after a few weeks, we threw the eggs away, we were all sad!!!!
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