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<\/p>\nA diversion from my lockdown miseries almost within arm’s reach from my computer desk.<\/p>\n
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Yesterday morning while I was sitting at my computer and mostly failing to find something entertaining online to relieve my extreme boredom during this interminable lockdown I noticed a flurry of activity out of the corner of my eye and just outside the window immediately to my left. It was a pair of Eurasian Collared Doves who had obviously just begun to build their nest in one of my catalpa trees that is so close to my window its leaves often brush the glass in a breeze.<\/p>\n
This is the female of the pair as she was waiting for her mate to bring her yet another piece of nesting material. In this species the female does all of the nest construction and the male delivers the construction materials.<\/p>\n
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I’ll never be able to get decent photos at the nest. The lighting there will always be poor, I have to shoot through my (usually dirty) window glass and there are just too many branches and too much debris in the way.<\/p>\n
And it goes without saying that I won’t remove any of the obstructing branches and twigs in order to get slightly better photos. These birds chose this location for good reasons and some of them are related to the cover those branches and eventual leaves will provide.<\/p>\n
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In the short time I had my smaller zoom lens on these birds (several of these photos were taken at only 100mm) the male made two deliveries of nesting material to his mate.<\/p>\n
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Each time he tucked the nesting material beneath the female so she could arrange it perfectly at her convenience. A little research confirmed that this is known behavior for this species and I found it both touching and fascinating to watch. Here I like the way he’s bracing his foot against his mate as he reaches around her with the twig in his bill.<\/p>\n
The nest will never be a marvel of complex engineering; instead it will be no more than a flimsy platform supported by a fork in the larger branches.<\/p>\n
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Some readers may remember that several years ago a pair of Mourning Doves constructed their nest in exactly the same spot chosen by the Eurasian Collared Doves. Sadly they abandoned the nest before any eggs were laid.<\/p>\n
The collared doves may do the same thing. Catalpa trees leaf out unusually late in the spring and this spot can get quite hot for a few hours in the hottest part of the day before the leaves come out. Yesterday these collared doves disappeared for most of the afternoon after the sun hit the nest but last night at around sunset I opened my drapes to see if they had returned and the female was sitting on the nest again. So I’m hopeful.<\/p>\n
In truth Eurasian Collared Doves will never be at the top of my list of favorite birds. They’re not native to North America and I’m not particularly fond of their call which I find somewhat annoying. But my jaded heart melts more than a little at the thought of being able to watch them raise their family through my window and only 6-8′ from where I’ll very often be sitting at my computer. All l have to do is turn my head to my left to see the nest.<\/p>\n
I hope it happens. I could really use the entertainment and the diversion at this very difficult time for all of us.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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A diversion from my lockdown miseries almost within arm’s reach from my computer desk.<\/p>\n