Empty nest…hmm…what should we do?

Every time I step outside, there’s a new adventure with our resident doves. Maybe I should start a new blog just for them! LOL I’ll be back to posting sneak peeks and other goodies soon. But for now, here’s the latest on the birds. They are SO protective of their young! I headed out the door one day to go to a shoot, and mama or papa dove swooped in right in front of me, flapping his/her wings. I had to turn around and press up against the door until he backed off.  On another day, I was outside taking photos of the whole front door scene, with the flowers and the dove nest (cuz I think it’s kinda cute) and I turned around at one point and the papa(?) was standing on a post right behind my head. Glaring at me with a creepy look. Think “The Birds.”

The dove babies (round 2) are big already:

fledglings1

So big, they’ve flown the coop. Here they are, out on their own:

fledgling2
fledgling1
What are the empty nesters to do? Why mate, of course!  They must be married, because it’s a very fast process. First they flirt for about 3 seconds:

doves-flirting

Then they play hard-to-get for maybe 2 seconds:

doves-hardtoget

Then they move closer again, and kiss:

doves-kissing

And neck:

doves-necking

And I mean REALLY neck:

doves-necking-close

And then well, I suppose this is why they call it the birds and the bees:

doves-mating
So I’m expecting mama dove to be back on the nest in a few days.

June 17, 2009 - 1:26 pm

Teri Mason - These are amazing! Love the kissing shot. How sweet to watch this out your window!!

June 17, 2009 - 1:30 pm

admin - I was actually standing right there…they don’t seem to need any privacy! LOL

June 17, 2009 - 1:35 pm

Cindy Thymius - I adore your composition on #7. What a great series!

June 17, 2009 - 3:20 pm

Marmalade - Your blog now needs a PG-13 rating! :)

Amazing amazing story and images to go with it. The patience it must’ve required to photograph these love birds and to tell such a beautiful tale – remarkable.

June 17, 2009 - 5:24 pm

Jen - Oh these are FABULOUS! They are such lovely (and in love!) birds. You create the most amazing art pieces Lauri.

June 17, 2009 - 10:13 pm

Pammy - We have a dove and nest in our yard. It’s interesting to see how they interact and create their family.

June 18, 2009 - 2:56 pm

nina - WOW – these are amazing!!! Thanks for sharing these!

June 21, 2009 - 1:04 pm

CarrieS - these look like something you’d see in a wildlife magazine, beautiful artwork here!

June 22, 2009 - 7:07 am

admin - I read up on the mating habits a bit. My story here, is of course, totally fiction. But it turns out it’s not completely wrong! A more accurate description of what was happening is here: doves mating

June 23, 2009 - 1:50 pm

Terrilyn - Lauri these are just incredible!! What a talent you have!

September 4, 2009 - 3:51 am

Raym - great series!

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