Lone Ring Necked Dove with a nestling - how do I look after her?

[jenny_p]

I have a ring necked dove - believe it's a female - nesting in a very vulnerable position in the lower dead branches of a conifer, about 6 feet from ground level. She has no cover, and it looks like she has one nestling - I have seen her grooming it. I've seen no evidence of a partner, she never seems to move (although I dare say she does when I'm not around!) and I just want to make sure that she has whatever she needs readily at hand.

I have placed lots of water bowls around the base of the tree, I have been putting out a mixture of sunflower seeds, crushed peanuts and "Robin food" bought last winter. It consists of oats, suet, dried insects plus sunflower & peanut bits.

Is there anything else I could do for her?

[rossy]

you dont need to do anything, the doves will be ok, have you only just noticed the nest, or have you been monitoring from when the dove 1st built the nest, best to stay away and leave them to it, rossy.

[htcdude]

Is it a Ring-necked Dove, or a Collared Dove?

As rossy has said leave her to it, she will either use the nest or not, let nature take it's course

Nige

[jenny_p]

Originally Posted by rossy

you dont need to do anything, the doves will be ok, have you only just noticed the nest, or have you been monitoring from when the dove 1st built the nest, best to stay away and leave them to it, rossy.

Originally Posted by htcdude

Is it a Ring-necked Dove, or a Collared Dove?

As rossy has said leave her to it, she will either use the nest or not, let nature take it's course

Nige

Erm - might be a collared dove? Forgive my ignorance!

The nest is cheek by jowl with an area I use to sit and watch the world go by in the garden. I had not noticed her until about a week ago - maybe just me being unobservant.

I will move away from her, although she doesn't seem to mind if I sit and talk to her. As long as I am confident she can take care of herself, that's fine. She just looks a bit lonely and vulnerable.

Thanks for your help.

[werdnal]

Originally Posted by jenny_p

Erm - might be a collared dove? Forgive my ignorance!

The nest is cheek by jowl with an area I use to sit and watch the world go by in the garden. I had not noticed her until about a week ago - maybe just me being unobservant.

I will move away from her, although she doesn't seem to mind if I sit and talk to her. As long as I am confident she can take care of herself, that's fine. She just looks a bit lonely and vulnerable.

Thanks for your help.

Its admirable that you want to help, but always difficult to intervene with wildlife as even with the best of intentions, we can sometimes do more harm than good.

When you say she is sitting on the nest and you have seen her "grooming" the nestling - can you actually see the youngster? Its possible she is actually sitting on eggs, as they turn them regularly during the day, to incubate them evenly. Also, when you say "no sign of a mate", the male and female are virtually identical and share the incubation, so they could have swapped over when you were not aware of it. She may have lost her mate, which does make it difficult for a single bird to raise their young. This is an unfortunately situation, but the food and water you have put out will be a great help. There is little more you can do really, as try too hard and you may end up with an abandoned nestling to raise, which is never an ideal situation.

It is possible, that this is a young bird, who is nesting for the first time, and has therefore built a nest in a very vulnerable spot. Sadly, some birds need to make the mistake of losing their first brood, before they understand that something is wrong. If she is unsuccessful this year, she will learn from it and nest somewhere more suitable next time.

[jenny_p]

Originally Posted by werdnal

Its admirable that you want to help, but always difficult to intervene with wildlife as even with the best of intentions, we can sometimes do more harm than good.

When you say she is sitting on the nest and you have seen her "grooming" the nestling - can you actually see the youngster? Its possible she is actually sitting on eggs, as they turn them regularly during the day, to incubate them evenly. Also, when you say "no sign of a mate", the male and female are virtually identical and share the incubation, so they could have swapped over when you were not aware of it. She may have lost her mate, which does make it difficult for a single bird to raise their young. This is an unfortunately situation, but the food and water you have put out will be a great help. There is little more you can do really, as try too hard and you may end up with an abandoned nestling to raise, which is never an ideal situation.

It is possible, that this is a young bird, who is nesting for the first time, and has therefore built a nest in a very vulnerable spot. Sadly, some birds need to make the mistake of losing their first brood, before they understand that something is wrong. If she is unsuccessful this year, she will learn from it and nest somewhere more suitable next time.

I have seen the nestling and I am sure that this is her only chick. She grooms his/her little pale grey head, then they settle down with one another. I am as sure as I can be that there is no mate around - I work from home and nip out regularly to have a peep at her and I am sure she is on her own. I have not seen another dove, and she never seems to move.

I think she is getting used to me - call me batty, but I talk to her and tell her not to take any notice of me, and that I have put some grub down for her and lots of fresh water. She is such a pretty little thing, and I just want her to raise the little one that I have seen.

[FUDGEY]

I would if possible try and add long dead grass or something to make it less visible. There is a good chance the chick will get predated. That is just me though, plenty people say do not interfere.