Expert: Roger Lederer - 6/11/2009

Question
A pair of mouring doves were attempting to make a nest on my back patio.  I have seen them before when then tried to do the same on the top of a Halloween prop shark hanging from the patio underroof.  I helped them because the twigs kept falling off.  I laid a cloth up there and grabbed what I believe was their old nest from the front yard evergreen tree.  I placed it on top of the cloth on the shark.  They added to the nest and within a month mom was sitting on a single fledgling.  Because I feared it would eventually fall to the patio I suspended a pool float under the shark.  Sure enough the next day (today) the little one fell into the float.  With hesitation I slide it on a pool skimmer (without touching it) and carefully tipped it back in the nest while mom watched from the other end of the shark.  He was a fluffy little thing. I kept an eye on the them ocassionally through the family room glass doors.  All appeared fine until I peared ot about 4 hours later and the little one was again on the float under the shark - this time dead.  What happened?

Answer
I can't tell you what happened exactly because I can't see the bird or nest. But if it was fluffy, I suspect he was ready to leave the nest and simply jumped out. The young leave the nest before they can fly and the parents feed them on the ground. You should not put them back in the nest unless they are clearly nestlings (mostly naked) because they will simply jump out again.  They rarely fall out as people think. You might have injured it with the pool skimmer, but that doesn't sound likely. (By the way, you can touch a baby bird or nest with your bare hands - the parents will not abandon it because of the scent - they have bad senses of smell). Leaving the nest is traumatic - scrambling out, falling, etc. and often young birds die in the process. Why this one died, I don't know, but it is not uncommon. Injury, heat, cold, disease, etc. could have played a role.