World, Meet Joe

Well, our friends on the deck did indeed have two eggs. This is Joe, the first to hatch!

Sadly, once the egg hatched the doves seemed to lose interest in their nest (and offspring) and Joe didn't make it through the day. His sibling never hatched at all (we found the egg on the floor next to the flower pot).

:-(

I'm not sure what caused the birds to abandon the nest. They seemed to be taking egg duty seriously (the parents take turns - dad gets the day shift and mom the night) only leaving the nest for brief periods during the whole incubation period. Then once this little guy hatched, they split.

It was kind of tough explaining what happened to our kids, but they seem to understand insomuch as 4 and 5 year olds can. It can be a rough world out there.