Hi - I found a spotted turtle nestling dove (approx. 7 days old) in my backyard this morning under a bush. I have located the nest in the tree above and saw another baby in the nest. However, the problem is that the nest is far too small for both birds and I can understand how one managed to fall out. So I have made another nest out of a small cardboard box and wedged it between branches near the original nest (which still has the baby sibling nestling in it). I have seen the mother hanging around the tree and she flew in about an hour after I put in my makeshift nest up (containing the baby that fell out earlier).
My quetion is: will the mother tend to/ and feed both young even though they are in separate nests? The nests are approx. 20 cm apart. I am reluctant to put the babies together in the one nest, when I attempted to put them together , the baby in the original nest tried to attack its sibling, the original nest is too small. I could put both babies in the larger nest that I made but I am worried that the fiesty baby will not accept the return of its sibling thus thought it best to keep them in separate adjacent nests. Does anyone know if the mother will care for them both in separate nests? Thank you
Observe & report back, a. I’m interested in what you discover.
By the way, the Spotted Turtle Dove is a feral species which successfully competes with native species so it is to be discouraged, especially if you’re interested in conserving natives. For more information type <Spotted Turtle Dove> into the search box near the top of this page.
They are indifferent parents at best, the flimsy nests are just the first example of that.