Mourning Doves - desperate for help/advice (1 Viewer)

I've rented a house for nearly three years now and there's a pair of mourning doves who just seem to have the worst luck. The first year I was here they built a nest on some planks being stored in the garage eaves. One day I was walking in the back yard with my dog and both doves were on the ground. Although my dog and then I came near, they would not budge. My dog wandered off (she is a breed type that doesn't go for animals) but I continued to hang around, and I finally saw they were near a dead baby bird. This was far from the garage and the baby wasn't old enough to have flown. I was confused until I found cat paw prints on my car in the garage. Darn neighbor cat had climbed up my car to leap up onto the planks up in the garage and get to the nest...

The next year, the doves built a nest under an awning of the back porch. I didn't notice this until the eggshell was pushed out and was on the brick walk below - I then looked up and saw nest sticks peeking out from the awning above. Since all I saw was the eggshell I assumed they successfully had a baby, but I never saw a baby with them. I don't know what went wrong!

Bit by bit and up to this year the doves have been more and more relaxed about our presence. Lately, they would often hang out in the yard or driveway and even allow myself and my dog to walk by them within 6-10 feet. I love these doves.

I was leaving for a trip this weekend and my husband decided to close the garage door for once. Well as the automatic door came down... a nest came down... the doves had built their latest nest ON the garage door. We had no idea! The nest and two babies hit the cement and I thought my husband was going to cry. He was very upset. I checked the babies and their necks were broken.

I will be back home from my trip tomorrow and I'm determined not to have the doves give up on our place. I would like to be able to place out some food for a little while (not ongoing, just for a little while) and I'd like to figure out a SAFE place on the property to install the basics for a good mourning dove's nest. I've looked on the net and I see outlines for a basic nest. But I know these doves like to have something overhead (but not too close to their head). I can't install a nest in the garage again (what if the next renters here keep closing the door and trapping the birds in the garage?) The porch doesn't really have a spot for a nest...

So what I need to know is... what sort of bird food or food items can I get for these poor dears... and then what ideas does anyone have about finding a safe nesting place for them? Away from the stupid neighbor's cat especially - that cat still prowls around this property.

--Lorelei

Hi Lorelie, Welcome to Bird Forum from Admin. and Moderators.

Not a good situation with prowling cats through the yard. Number 1, I would check to see if the cat is a pet or a wild cat. Speaking to the owners sometimes helps but don't count on it. Contacting animal control in your city might be helpful with traps and fines.

It's amazing where birds decide to build their nests, offering a nesting location might work. I've had doves nest in hanging baskets on the deck. Your problem is getting them high enough from a cat with its mind on dove for dinner. Many members here have experience with nesting birds around the yard and may be able to offer ideas to save the mouning doves.
We hope to here a solution to your problem soon.

Looking better

I did a lot of reading last night and this morning, and am starting to feel better. Mourning doves breed about 5 times a year so it's likely they've had some successes that we didn't know about.

I have 5 healthy California orange trees here with constant output. Apparently mourning doves like to eat fruit seeds off the ground so they must just love it here. No need for me to try to come up with other food to entice them to try this lot one more time.

I believe the cat is a neighbor's and not feral. It's tempting to try trapping it and bringing it to the shelter for their owners to pick up. Perhaps the annoyance of having to claim their cat would get a message to the owners. (We have an excellent shelter system in Los Angeles; if the cat's owners were so dense as to fail to pick up the cat, I would have a claim number so I could pick it up myself after 10 days so it wouldn't be put down.)

A hanging basket for a nest!? Articles state that mourning doves frequently nest in places that are too accessible by wind, or spots where the nest is not stable. All the more reason for me to try to put up a stable base -- I think I will be better at evaluating nest spots than the doves themselves. And hopefully I could even figure out a spot that a cat can't reach.

You know, a few years ago a park squirrel came right up to my dog, stood up on its haunches and sniffed my dog's nose. I hope someday to have an environment here where the mourning doves can feel just as safe.

--Lorelei

Hi Lorelei and a warm welcome to you. Your most obvious caring and concern will go a long way in making life better for your yard birds.

I have watched the doves use left over nests from another bird that were really way to small for them and their brood but that doesn't stop them.

I have begun calling animal control for every cat I see. No matter if I know it lives across the street. I have no respect for neighbors who don't care enough about their cats to let them roam free.

Your yard sounds as though it would be a delightful spot for many birds in addition to the doves.

Not likely the neighbors will change their ways. There should be some other ways to keep cats out. We have a fenced yard. The birds fly over or thru the fence to escape into our yard, cat gives up at that point.

I have ordered a humane cat-trap off the internet. Losing time picking up their cat from the shelter a few times, will hopefully give them the message. But I wish the cat had a collar so that I could figure out whose it is.

Update

Well I lost the battle but not the war. I got a nest cup prepared and went to install it inside the garage. I saw that the doves were hanging out in the rafters in the same area that the cat had killed a previous baby bird. So I got up there and installed the nest cup against the wall in the rafters (away from where cats can jump) and removed the other section over the car so that the doves would not be able to nest again in cat territory.

I guess all my activity turned off the doves, because a few days later we saw them flying nest materials next door to my neighbors' back yard. I guess their next nest will be over there.

On the bright side, I still have a yardful of orange trees so the two of them come over as usual to hang out on the ground and peck where the oranges have fallen.

Maybe some future pair will like the nest cup that I have ready in the garage rafters.

--Lorelei

I have trapped somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 cats in the past four years on MY land. I have let all of my immediate neighbors know that I trap cats and theirs will go to animal control if they find my trap. Some have turned their cats into indoor cats. Some say "They are barn cats and if they get down to your place do whetever you want with them". I explian that I spend a lot of time and money on backyard birding and I do not intend to do supplimental feeding of cats. I also let them know that it isn't just songbirds that we are losing. It's Rabbits, Pheasant, Turkey... Cats are domestic animals and belong indoors. If people are irresponsible enough to allow their cats to roam and they find my trap, oh well.

Last Sunday, as I was preparing to run some errands, a cat was on my back porch hiding behind some ferns and stalking my feeders. It almost got a Dove while I watched. Since the trap didn't get this cat in time I took another option. That cat does not hunt birds any longer.

I have two indoor cats and love them dearly. I have no compassion for roaming cats. If thay can kill... :gn:

Mark

Fabulous post Mark.

Wish we could do that around here in Blighty.

We've had two mourning doves in our yard for several years. This year they had four beautiful and feisty chicks/babies. Several weeks ago I went to replenish the feeder and found the feathers from one of the adults. I felt terrible. I think the culprit was a cute black and white cat I see occasionally around the neighborhood. We felt terrible since both my husband and I love to watch them pick for seeds at the bottom of the feeder (we always put seeds down for them). I've seen them in the yard side by side with a bunny that comes to enjoy the seeds too.

Cindy

Draco said:

I have trapped somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 cats in the past four years on MY land.

Click to expand...

Oh please, share how to do this successfully. Stray cats are a huge problem in my area. Every time we put a live trap out (w/ canned cat food) we end up with possoms, skunks and raccoons, but no cats! How do you get the @#$%&* things???

Pam