Mourning Dove Eggs

In a dead tree, low to the ground.
Not the smartest bird on the block when it comes to nesting.
Easy prey.
I bet they don't make it to hatch stage.
I'll monitor.

They look like chicken eggs, only smaller. The photo enlarges somewhat cuz taken with tele zoomed in. Someone online said one inch in diameter and that sounds about right.

There is another mourning dove nest in a different live tree higher up. Must be the smarter cousin. lol

15 Jul 09:
Mourning Dove eggs gone (both nests abandoned).

Mourning Dove

Previous Mourning Dove pics
here
and
here

Recent So-So Photography

Here's a mourning dove I caught in flight, but an awful bland flat blue and backlit. I grayscaled it, up'd the Brightness/Contrast and then layered in some color and clouds.

Mourning Dove at Sunrise

A mourning dove has gotten in the habit of sitting on our power line pole and singing every morning at sunrise. Terrible backlit and low light situation but I try anyway. Him and I played this little get closer game for a few mornings. I was trying to see if he'd acclimate to my presence, so I can get closer. Not. He had a clear boundary and stuck to it every time.

It is interesting to watch him when he coos. His chest puffs out and his tails bobs up and down when he's perched on the wire instead of the pole. It looks like he wags his tail. It made me laugh.

So anyway, crappy pictures, really. But I thought maybe I could turn it into a silhouette and add a different background. Something minimalistic with a sunrise tone to it to capture the same mood. I found a gradient that seemed to do it.

The nest? Abandoned. No sign of eggs or babies. Don't know what happened. Maybe the morning cooing is a mourning song.

More mourning dove pics here.