We have a small upstairs balcony, just large enough for two chairs looking down on the street. The balcony is completely covered by the eaves of the house. Inside, there is a supporting beam, and that’s where a pair of doves have decided to build their condo.

Most of the time, only one of them is here, just sitting there, resting. They are now used to us, so we can get within a couple of feet and take a picture without scaring them. We come up and talk to them through the screen door.

Today, we saw both of them there at the same time, one of them in the nest and the other in the adjoining condo – or perhaps separate bedroom.

We don’t know if there are any eggs in the nest yet. We’ll check the next time they are both out shopping.

If I were a dove, I’d find this spot too. It does not get any better. It’s completely protected from terrestrial predators, since it’s under a balcony that cannot be reached from the ground. It’s invisible from the outside. While other birds could get there, they’d have to know it’s there first. And it’s protected from all weather and wind.

When choosing real estate, it’s all about location, location and location.

In contrast, I searched for nests of doves, and found that not all doves are as smart as our pets. Check out this one:

It’s right out in the open, on top of an ultrasonic bird repellant machine. It does not seem like the gizmo is working on the doves. Hopefully it won’t drive the chicks crazy when they hatch.