dove

I realized I haven't updated lately on the dumb mourning dove on the front porch (see here and here). After she'd sat there for about three weeks, I was starting to wonder if maybe her whole building-a-family thing hadn't gone so hot. I checked online and, indeed, mourning dove eggs are supposed to hatch in two weeks, but there were still no chirps coming from the front porch. Finally, after about four weeks on the nest, she abandoned it. I checked yesterday before I went to work and saw this: one [presumably defunct] egg and a whole lotta bird poop.

Oh well. Better luck next time. I saw Dino Editor this week and asked her about it - she's a big birder. She told me that mourning doves are so dumb, they'll build a nest in the gutter and keep rebuilding it every time the rain washes it out.