you guys.
yesterday morning after i got back from my run, i looked out the back door to check on my doves and look what i saw.
please…oh. my. heart.
i was starting to wonder if her eggs were ever going to hatch. according to wikipedia, the mourning dove egg incubation is approximately two weeks. and we were a few days past it. i’m not exactly sure when they hatched. but oh my goodness. i am over the moon about it.
i know…it’s so silly to be so overjoyed at two little mourning dove babies. i mean it’s not as if they are my grandchildren for pete’s sake.
dear kelsey…no pressure. honest. 
but since my friend ann always talks about when her cows have babies…she calls them her ‘grandmoos….i guess it’s ok for me to consider these my ‘granddoves’. 
aren’t they so cute? and by that i mean in a ‘so ugly they’re cute’ kind of way. but clearly they are loved.
so i sort of geeked out on mourning doves the other day. and in case you were curious, the parents take shifts at the nest. the dad does the day shift from morning to afternoon (i did a fair bit of nest watching yesterday {ahem} and it appears that dad’s shift is from around 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.). mom does all the rest.
i mean is any mother out there really surprised by that?
anyway, irregardless of who is doing it, the babies (also called ‘squabs’) have to be fed. and for the first four to five days they live on what’s called pigeon milk – a regurgitated secretion from the lining of the pigeon’s craw.
in a couple of weeks, these little guys will be old enough to digest their own food and will start leaving the nest a little. but they will still stay close to their dad who will continue to feed them for a couple more weeks.
until then, i don’t foresee me getting much done.
love, kelly
These depict such loving tenderness and care.
Oh my goodness, too cute. Well worth your nest watching for those photos. I think Dad bird does better than most human dads 🙂
so SWEET!!!! I love them!!! Yeah I don’t think you will be getting much done!! 🙂
ahhh….congratulations Grandma!! Isn’t it wonderful watching nature at it’s best.
Oh my … this is so sweet, Kelly !
And you’ve captured that tenderness so beautifully … love it !
Have a wonderful weekend,
Sylvia
They are so awesome! And I have found that mourning doves let you get a bit closer with the camera than most other feathered friends, they’re less skittish. If that’s the case, you should get some wonderful photos!
Your grand-doves are beautiful. I’d knit them little outfits if I could. The photos are amazing, Kelly. Yeah, housework can wait. For sure.
Oh sis, this is the sweetest thing I’ve seen for a good while. I too am in love with your grand doves. Such a sweet gift from Heaven, to remind us all that God’s Love shines through in the most unexpected ways and places. Doves are so beautiful and such a symbol for Peace, the expressions on the parents faces captured with your camera make my heart sing.
i was the same way last spring when “our” baby robins were born. baby birds are truly the ugliest and cutest little things ever. ; )
I love Morning Doves, such sweet gentle birds and these captures are so precious, each and every one!
This is awesome! – I saw the update on the babies too. What fun it must be to watch them growing up.