Nesting Mourning Dove Part 2

x01blogIMG_6824a

This little Mourning Dove set up her nest in the rafters of the Tiki Hut at Harbour Club Villas and Marina. I’ve been photographing the nest and the parent doves for several weeks now. Here are the photos taken up until today, June 19, when I caught all the action of the little birds spreading and fluttering their wings and leaving the nest for the big wide world.

x08blogIMG_7762a

 

x011blogIMG_8725ab

Fluffing out those feathers so I was pretty sure the flight day was pretty close

x014

x019

Feeding time as the little dove returns to the nest to feed his/her little ones.

x019ablogIMG_9578

Getting big and ready to fly

x020blogIMG_9609

x023

Time to spread those wings

x025ablogIMG_9625

x025blogIMG_0156

I’m watching you!!

x026blogIMG_0253a

Away we go as the little birds leave the nest and head along the rafters

x033blogIMG_0310

Everyone safely down from the rafters of the Tiki Hut and onto the gravel in the parking lot

x034

both parents are watching out for the chicks

x036blogIMG_0457a

They scuttled across the parking lot and the parents tucked them safely into a little sheltered spot off the drive way leading down to the marina

x037blogIMG_0561

They finally flew into the vegetation on our hill

x038

Sad to see them go…what am I going to photograph now?

Nesting Mourning Dove

blogadoveIMG_5599

Mourning dove on her nest in the rafters of our tikihut.

We saw some twigs and straw sticking out of the rafters of the tikihut at Harbour Club Villas and Marina. As we went to clean it up, we discovered this pretty little Mourning Dove on its nest of twigs.

blogadoveIMG_5618

Close up of its head and extraordinary colours around the eye.

blogIMG_5646

Here’s the nest up on a beam in Harbour Club’s tikihut by the pool.

The mourning dove is named for the rather haunting and sad cooing sound it makes. When it flies, it’s wings make a whistling sound. They are mostly seed eaters that feed on the ground and here at Harbour Club Villas, we often see them pecking at the gravel under our neem trees.

 

blogIMG_6060

The dove definitely didn’t let me out of her sight.

I couldn’t resist shooing it off the nest so that I could photograph the two eggs. Both parents will build a rather flimsy platform nest usually up high in a tree or a bush. The eggs hatch after 14 days or so and one is laid in the evening and the second one in the morning. Now I didn’t know that both parents care for the little ones. I have noticed another dove hanging around that has been spotted on the roof of the tikihut. I also learned that it’s usually the male that incubates the eggs during the day and the female at night. I don’t know that I can tell the difference between the male and the female.

 

blogIMG_6133

Two white eggs in a very sparse looking nest of twigs.

blogIMG_6149

My hand just to give you an idea of the size of the eggs

blogIMG_6176

Someone is watching me very carefully? Not sure if this is a male or female.

The mourning dove is 9-13 inches in length and has a wingspan of 15-18 inches. It has a grayish-brown body and quite a long, pointed tail that has a border of white. The dove’s head is small and rounded with a small, thin, black bill. Legs and feet are pink. The wing has black spots and there is a black spot under the eye. The eyes are brown and surrounded by a blue circle of skin. Males and females look alike, but the female is slightly smaller and duller in color.

blogIMG_6608

The dove started to puff up as I brought my camera closer.

blogIMG_6614

Fanning out wings and tail feathers to ward me off in the hopes I would go away.

blogIMG_6616a

How beautiful are those tail feathers!

Both parents will feed the chicks that are also called squabs. They are fed pigeon milk which is a mixture of water, fat, minerals, and protein that the male and female mourning doves produce in their crop.  The crop is a sac that is found at the bottom of their esophagus.

blogIMG_6627a

Two little baby doves huddled together……….no wonder the dove was protective.

blogIMG_6638a

Close up of one of the little doves.

blogIMG_6663a

The chicks will fledge when they are 2 weeks old.

blogIMG_6665a

Nestlings are cared for by both parents and fledge in about 12-14 days.

In the days to come, I will add more photos as the chicks grow and leave the nest.

Marta

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Evening Stroll at Harbour Club Villas

blogIMG_3648

Zenaida Dove perches on the back stone wall by the pool area at Harbour Club Villas

A beautiful, still and calm evening for a stroll around Harbour Club’s grounds and down to the Marina. An over abundance of opportunities as I wander around taking photos of the flowering plants, animals and sunset views. Here’s a selection and I hope you enjoy seeing them.

blogIMG_3633

The pool at Harbour Club Villas in the late afternoon. Look at the flowering desert rose.

blogIMG_3121

A perfect bridal bouquet of orange island honeysuckle favoured by the hummingbirds.

blogIMG_3660

Pesky woodpecker that’s drilling holes in our coconut palms…….he’s a yellow bellied sapsucker.

 

blogIMG_3626

Cankyberry, a species of nightshade found on our islands with its sharp prickles.

bloglizIMG_3604

This little anole lizard was perched high on my frangipani licking I don’t know what off the budding flowers.

blogIMG_3617

A bright yellow spiny orb weaver. Quite pretty really even though I don’t really like spiders.

blogIMG_3769

Neighbours out for an evening sail coming in to the Marina at dusk.

blogfbIMG_3774

This little anole was curious and posed for the camera.

blogIMG_3786

The sunset glow of golden colours is so amazing looking towards Five Cays from Harbour Club Villas and Marina

blogaquaIMG_3716

Aqua TCI divers boat gently rides out the evening in the Marina, ready and waiting for another great dive day in the waters of Provo.

All this in a casual evening stroll around Harbour Club Villas and Marina. Love the peaceful quiet as the sun sets over our islands.

 

Marta

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Birds at Harbour Club Villas

Bananaquits are usually just too fast to photograph but this one posed prettily in our tamarind tree.

All of a sudden there seems to be lots of singing, chirping, cooing and squawking going on around Harbour Club Villas. I’ve managed to photograph quite a few birds in the last week that seem to like this area……….Bananaquits, Doves, a Green Heron that tries to catch fish and drinks from the pool, the Northern Mockingbird locally called “Preacher Bird” and many Bahama Woodstar Hummingbirds.

This little Mourning Dove doesn't seem to be afraid of me as it pecks away at something in the gravel under the neem trees.

There are several doves here in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Every morning quite early, we hear the Zenaida Dove cooing. The Mourning Dove has more of a melancholy voice and has a long tail that fans out on take off and landing. We also have the Common Ground Dove and the White-winged Dove.

The Northern Mockingbird is a songbird, sometimes called the Nightingale or more locally 'Preacher Bird' because of their talkativeness and singing.

Every day the Green Heron visits the pool for a cooling drink. He'll squawk at guests to let them know this is his private drinking pool.

The Green Heron likes to fish and stays low to the water craning his neck out as he searches for food. Often, we can hear him in the trees grumbling to himself and making ‘skuk skuk’ noises. Heaven forbid if you disturb him as he will fly up complaining loudly and this has given it the local name of the ‘Kow Kow’.

Stalking a lizard on a Coconut frond.

A Mockingbird perched high on a branch and singing away.

A little Bahama Woodstar Hummingbird let me get really close one night as it perched on a branch.

Bananaquit with beautiful yellow breast preens on a branch of the Tamarind tree.

I managed to get a photo of this dove as it sat on a barrel.

 

I caught this Great Egret walking down the road from Rickie's or Flamingo Bar.

 

He was not about to let go of his lunch...a curly tailed lizard.

I’m glad that I have my camera with me most days. It was pure luck to sight this Great Egret just walking down the road. He must not have liked what was on the menu at Flamingo’s. Enjoy these photos and we hope all you bird lovers , birders and birdwatchers will visit our islands soon.

 

Marta

 

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com