I have some questions for you bird experts here...
We have a mourning dove nest on the beam of an over hang right outside
our front door. Apparently today was moving day as I walked out on the
****ch only to find the Mom 5 inches from our front door and her babies
a couple of feet away on our walkway. So cute!
Awhile later they moved about 10 feet away and have been there all
day, sitting on some bark and leaves near a retaining wall only a
couple of feet from bushes that I'd think would protect them a little
more :(
- How long will they be fledglings and when can they generally fly,
assuming today was they day they got booted from the nest? We did just
see one of them fly/jump straight up in the air about 3 feet, but all
day they've pretty much just sat there.
- How old do you think they are? We found a broken egg on the ground
about 11 days ago and assume it was from that nest, although it was
quite a ways in the other direction (maybe wind moved it?)
- Is there anything I can do to help protect them from the icky cat
that comes in our yard now and then or worse, the sharp ****nned hawk
that visits us about once a week? We live in the suburbs in the SF Bay
Area, but it feels more like wild kingdom around here lately!
I want my 4 year old to know about nature, but am not in a hurry to
have her see a baby bird devoured by a cat or a hawk. This is all so
exciting for us, living in sick suburbia only now I feel like a
worried Mom :)
TIA for any info you can share. Here are some pics, hope the link
works:
http://picasaweb.google.com/co2h2o/Fledglings?authkey=7QNfg3ElZrc
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