Jeff

Activity #1~ The artistic work on the 'Wall of Birds' from throughout the world is amazing. I'm a complete novice to bird watching. My interest can be attributed to a couple events. The first is the 'quarantine', and the second was two mourning doves selecting a fern hanging outside my sliding glass door for their nest site. I perused the 'Wall of Birds', and learned a great deal about a variety of different birds from this planet. My favorite was probably the barn owl because of learning about its incredible hearing. I always assumed owls had huge pupils in their eyes, which enabled them to hunt at night. I didn't realize how much hearing plays apart in that endeavor. Activity #2~ I utilized a field guide to read about local birds including Mallard ducks (which I have), and other birds like the Arctic Tern. I've never seen this bird, but their migration rivals miles traveled by career commercial airline pilots! I 'inherited' the National Geographic Birds of North America, but since participating in this course, I've ordered Peterson's Field Guide to Birds in North America, and The Sibley Guide to Birds. I utilized the first to do this activity because the others hadn't arrived yet. Activity #3~ Favorite Bird? Mourning Doves literally stole my heart. Two mated Mourning Doves selected a fern outside my sliding glass door as their nesting site. I was bringing my outdoor plants inside because of a drop in temperature (Indianapolis). When I started to bring the fern into the house; I discovered a bird in the nest. I took a picture, and utilized the Merlin Bird ID provided by Cornell. I discovered it was a Mourning Dove (already admitted I'm a complete novice). I watched the bird for several days, which was about 8 feet from my dining room table. What I discovered through reading a guide was Mourning Doves (both males and females) assume responsibility in caring for their eggs. It was explained that the male and female look very similar (especially to untrained eyes). As a result, it appears to be the same bird on the nest at all times. The information was correct, I was blessed to witness the 'switch' on several different occasions. As the literature mentioned, the Mourning Doves are not great nest builders. However, they more than make up for that as parents. I mowed my lawn twice during the incubation period, and the female never moved off the nest. One night, we had a very strong front move through with high winds. I was concerned because the nest (in the fern) was supported by a hook on the deck. The wind rocked the fern back and forth, but the male never moved off the nest. I was blessed to watch the two baby doves grow, and be feed by both parents. They have now left the nest, and are staying under low hanging vegetation, and the mother still visits. I think she's still feeding them, and they are definitely getting bigger & exercising their wings for short trial flights. Bottom line.....I'm leaving the fern out with the abandon nest hoping they will select it again. They not only 'hooked' me on Mourning Doves; they also hooked me on bird watching! My many thanks to the Bird Academy for this opportunity, and I've recommended it to several friends and family members. ~ Jeff

I placed a fern one my deck three weeks ago. In Indianapolis the temperatures fluctuate a great deal this time of year. I started to take plants back inside, only to find a Mourning Dove had made her nest in the fern. It wasn't an impressive nest, but the parents more than make up for the lack of nest building skills with their parenting efforts. I 'assumed' it was the female on the nest, but learned through this class (and field guides), the male and female share incubation responsibilities. The Mourning Dove has become my favorite bird. I have been thoroughly amazed with the parents sharing this 'parenting' responsibilities. She sits on the nest during the day, and he takes the night 'duty'. We had a fairly significant storm shortly after the eggs were laid. He was on the nest, and I was concerned the fern might blown off of the hook supporting it. I watched, and he never left the nest with lightning, thunder, and 40 mph winds blowing the nest almost horizontally! I've never been a bird watcher, but this experience 'hooked me'. In trying to learn about this bird, I learned about the Cornell Ornithology Lab's course offering. I enrolled, and it's been a great decision. Since then, the fledglings have hatched, and the parents have continued their tremendous care, and support. However, as I read information from Cornell's Bird Academy on the Mourning Dove, the parents visit the nest less as the fledglings mature. I've found all the information they've supplied on this bird is correct. The parents are visiting the nest less, but still visit several times a day to feed the fledglings. I've seen both fledglings flap their wings, and lifted themselves off of the nest. From the information provided by the Cornell, I believe they will be flying soon, and learning to eat seed instead of the 'pigeon milk' provided by parents. Below is a picture of the mother bird with the her two fledglings.