Doves don't mind 'intruders' to their balcony pad

When Jedi the cat wants to go out on Kendall Drew's apartment balcony, two baby doves and their parents that live there must be moved out of harm's way.

So Drew simply picks up the flowerpot the birds use as a home and puts it on a higher shelf.

When Jedi goes back inside, Drew puts the pot down lower where she can see the little dove family grow. Rarely do the doves startle even when Drew moves the nest or when Jedi arrives. Drew and her boyfriend even store their bikes on the small balcony.

"The nest is behind where we hang our bikes and they have gotten used to us moving them around a lot," Drew said.

The dove parents obviously don't mind the terms of their lease because they've renewed it several times.

The current nest is the third one this year in the old dirt-filled flowerpot that still has a little decorative Spanish moss on top. Not only that, a pair of doves, probably the same pair, nested in the flowerpot last spring and had one baby, Drew said.

"So that's a total of seven babies born at my apartment," she said.

Watching baby doves is a different experience. The little ones look a lot like miniature parents, especially because they have grownup beaks like mom and dad.

Most baby birds have big gaping mouths that they can open wide to receive food from their parents, who poke it down their throats.

Not doves. Parent doves feed their babies by opening their own mouths wide. Baby doves then poke their little heads and slender beaks inside their parents' mouth to dine on what is known as "pigeon milk."

Pigeon milk is actually a nutritious baby food produced in the crop of adult doves (and pigeons).

Soft grayish doves with their innocent sounding "coos" and soulful eyes are really good guys in the bird world. Doves mate for life. Both parents take care of the young, so it is really rare to see the nest without an adult sitting on eggs, protecting their young from the elements or standing by.

Doves also are very trusting of humans.

They often choose to nest in low-lying bushes in the wild, but they also nest on urban fixtures like door wreaths, building ledges, window sills, light fixtures, and flower baskets and pots, including Drew's.

"They've been such a joy," Drew said.