At first, there was just one. One Mourning Dove sitting quietly in the tree, doing what doves seem to do best, looking peaceful, slightly serious, and completely unaware that anyone on the patio had started paying attention.
A few minutes later, there were two. They made their way to the hanging flat feeder together, balanced themselves through dinner, and then returned to the branch like they had a reservation there. From where we were sitting, it looked suspiciously like dinner followed by a very quiet little date.
Then came what looked like the dove version of affection. They sat close together, leaned toward one another, rubbed faces, touched bills, and seemed perfectly content just being side by side. Whether they were actually being romantic or simply doing normal dove things, our human brains had already committed to the storyline.
And then the date took a turn. What started as gentle little movements suddenly became what I can only describe as a slow but somehow very fast dance. There was shifting, balancing, wing flapping, climbing over one another, and enough awkward choreography to make us laugh from the patio.
As it turns out, our completely human interpretation may not have been all that far off.
Mourning Doves do show affection and courtship through close perching, gentle touching, bill contact, and preening, and that final burst of activity looked very much like mating behavior. So while I cannot tell you what these two doves were thinking, I feel fairly confident saying the date appeared to go well.
There is something delightfully funny about sitting outside expecting nothing more than birds at the feeder and accidentally becoming an audience for an entire little relationship arc. One dove. Then two: dinner, cuddling and a little dancing. And apparently no concern whatsoever that the people on the patio were watching the whole thing unfold.
Some Puddle Stories are quiet and reflective. Apparently, some are just date night in the pine tree.
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