Twins

Yesterday afternoon I heard the bird make some noise. The same noise they'd make when landing when I had seed in the feeder. So I peeked out the window to see what was up. The bird had gotten up to go somewhere and had just returned. There are 2 little eggs in the nest, so we're going to have twins!

I have done a bit of research and it seems the bird is a Mourning Dove. They were nearly eradicated a few years ago, the spotted Chinese dove had pretty much taken over. The spotted dove is not native to SoCal, the mourning dove is. The spotted doves nest high in the trees, making them an easy target for the crows. The crows ate all the spotted dove eggs and slowly the mourning dove has made its way back. They nest closer to the ground and closer to humans, and the crows are afraid of people so they tend to leave the nest alone.

Traditionally they nest in pairs, but there is only room for one bird in the feeder. I'm assuming it is the same bird sitting all the time, but really they could be switching it up and I just can't tell the difference. According to the link below the boy bird sits in the morning and the girl bird in the evening and night.

Mourning doves tend to have about 3 broods a year and return to the same location to nest year after year!

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Mourning_Dove.html