babies

Well, we watched and watched.  For over 2 weeks we watched through the window every day, several times a day in hopes of catching a glimpse of hatching eggs.  That was probably wishful thinking.  But the bird just kept sitting there.  I'm telling you she is the most diligent sitter I've ever seen!  She would make a great artist's model.  But yesterday she flew away for a moment and the papa bird came to watch over the eggs while she left and this is what I was fortunate to see.

BABIES!!!!  So adorable......and I'm guessing from the size of them that they hatched a few days ago.  Mama dove came back and I got to see her feed them through the window.  I was wishing so much that the boys were there to watch too.  They had been so excited about the whole thing.  I'm hoping that in a few days they'll be big enough to move around and she won't have to sit so close to them all the time so we can get more glimpses of them.

Then yesterday evening our boys and the Adams boys came running to tell us that they found another nest.  Sure enough, it's like a bird sanctuary in our backyard!

These cuties are soooo tiny.  They must have just hatched.  Of course I know very little about birds, so maybe not.  They're tiny though.  One of them didn't make it so we had a little burial for it, and Luke and Elliott even put a makeshift stick gravemarker in the ground so we would remember.  Maybe a little influence from Grandpa?