Expert: Julia Booth - 7/23/2010

Question
I have a Mourning dove that's fly's on my deck during the day and it stays under the canopy.  I don't see any nest but its fly's away a sun down.  what is going on with it.  there has always been two on the rails of the deck.  I only seen the other visiting the one on the deck once.  No sure if it is a Juvenile. We do not disturb it.  Please help me to figure out what is going on.  It is leaving a lot of droppings so I don't think its starving.  Thank you

Answer
I cannot tell you with 100% certainty what the bird is doing. But it sounds to me like it's nesting there. You said you don't see a nest. But nesting would explain the bird's behavior. Over the years I have noticed a trend. With most animals, including humans, any sort of unusual behavior is almost always connected in some way to their reproductive process.

Continue as you're doing. Don't disturb it. Don't be surprised if you hear baby birds chirping, sometime in the near future.

If there's any other way I can help you, let me know


Julia