On Saturday, my daughter went into the backyard to play and came running back in to tell us there was a dead bird outside. I told her to let daddy take care of it. So she went back outside. A minute later, my son came in to say that along with the dead bird on the ground, there was a live one. A little brown baby bird. I went outside to investigate along with hubby. Sure enough, there were two baby doves on the ground — one dead, one very much alive.
Saturday morning we had really, really rough winds in the valley. My daughter accompanied me to the post office and the heavy doors kept blowing open and scattering papers all over the PO lobby. It was crazy. We guessed the strong wind must have tossed the baby doves from their nest.
We waited a few hours for the momma dove to come and see to her remaining baby, but when it started getting dark, we started to worry. Hubby caved into the familial pressure and went to the store for a heating pad, baby bird gruel, and feeing syringe. We fed the baby and called it a night.
(It’s a cell phone picture, so forgive the quality.)
Today–after feeding the baby again–I spotted the momma dove outside. I was so excited! 
I put the shoebox out on the patio table and retreated into the house. From the kitchen windows, we watched as the momma dove eventually worked her way–very cautiously–over to her baby. When they reunited, it was awesome! Both of them seemed so happy to find each other again. Mom started feeding baby right away and nested in the shoebox with it. Daddy dove came back about 20 mins. after momma, and he spent the rest of the day on guard. At any given moment you could find him marching a perimeter around the table, or settled a few feet away watching the shoebox very closely.
However, as the sun started to set, the parents took shelter in the tree and left baby on the table. Since we have a ton of neighborhood cats (who used to love to chase our chicken) we couldn’t leave the baby outside overnight. So it’s back in the house again. Our parrot isn’t the slightest bit interested in the visitor, but our toy poodle gets jealous and whines if the kids hover over the box too much. 
We also found a hummingbird nest in our backyard pepper tree today. It’s the size of a silver dollar and it holds two tiny baby hummingbirds. They’re so itty bitty. Still, despite how tiny they are, I can’t believe they fit in that teeny nest. I also can’t believe they didn’t get tossed in the wind like the poor doves.
So it’s definitely spring here!
Oh how cute the little hummingbird is! I hope the momma and daddy dove help bring their baby into the nest with them. Would hate to think of anything happening to the little thing.
by Stacy ~ April 14th, 2008 at 5:08 amOne of my few complaints about spring (besides the ark-inspiring rains this year) are the baby birds that get blown out of their nests. We usually find a couple in our yard each year, but it’s after the neighborhood birds have gotten to them first.
The hummingbird is so tiny - so cute!
by Laurie April 14th, 2008 at 12:05 pmI meant neighborhood cats - not birds! Doh.
by Laurie April 14th, 2008 at 12:08 pmWe had a pigeon get blown out of the nest once. At the time we had a dog, part rottweiler part beagle. She went into the yard, found the bird, picked it up in her mouth and brought it to us. I promptly took the bird to a guy I know who wouldn’t turn it away. He nursed it until it could be set free.
by Nikki Duncan April 14th, 2008 at 1:33 pmThat is incredibly cool, Sylvia! Thanks for sharing that with us, complete with photos
How amazing that you get the birds up close and personal like that!
by Fedora April 14th, 2008 at 10:50 pm