Spring + Summer Nesting

It began with trying to force the arrival of spring by mounting fake flowers on our front door. A mourning dove took it as a signal to build her nest, which she did--right in the middle of the flowers on the front door. So we relinquished our entryway for her purpose and flagged off everyone except the Amazon delivery people. Essential. :) I held my iphone camera above the nest just to confirm, and though the image was blurry, there were indeed two eggs. Then we waited. And waited. She sat. And she sat. It seemed endless, and I wondered if the poor thing got any sleep because our front porch lights are controlled by a timer, so there's light 24/7. 

But her chosen spot was out of the wind and rain...and could barely be seen by any predators on the hunt. What was striking to me was that she didn't budge when we would approach the door, whether it was to sweep or prepare pots for summer flowers. She seemed to sense her safety though her eyes watched us closely. She seemed to never leave that nest and only when we saw her rise above it did we suspect that the eggs had hatched and the young doves were growing. And growing. Soon there was no room for her in the nest and she would sit in the tree near the door, keeping watch over her brood. 

They seemed to double in size in a short time so she must have fed them well, though I never witnessed it. They just continued to grow and thrive. And watch us closely as we tended to our potted flowers on the porch. And then pouf! This morning they were gone. All of them. I expected to see mom trying to coax them out of the nest, as I have with past fledglings. Especially since the first landing was not going to be a soft one. Only concrete to land on. In retrospect, I can only think that this must have been an experienced mom. She knew how to choose a secure and protected nesting site, build a sturdy nest, successfully incubate her eggs, protect her offspring, and then finally send them out into the world, motivating them to take that first big risk and fly. Well done, mom!
There are two other nests in the trees next to our house. One belongs to a cardinal. The other to a robin. We don't have the same ability to watch the progress there and can only hope that the outcomes were also good. It ensures continuing wildlife and birdsong in the neighborhood...a huge plus during this safer-at-home time during the pandemic.

Last nite we watched a huge painted turtle digging a nest for her eggs. And today, a very big American Bullfrog on the shoreline. I've read that early summer is the time when the males search out good nesting spots for the females, who deposit their eggs in floating aquatic vegetation. We have lots of that this week, so maybe our shoreline will be chosen. Frogs and turtles are said to be a sign of a healthy ecosystem. I hope that's true for Spring Lake!