Tenant in my orchid

[Fuerte Rav]

Surely it rains in your part of the world? The eggs would get wet then.
I'd just ignore the eggs and concentrate on the orchid, or, if I was feeling soft I might put a cocktail umbrella over them while I watered!

[Kollba]

Originally Posted by Fuerte Rav

Surely it rains in your part of the world?

This time of the year: No it doesn't - or almost no...
Three days ago we got about one hours rain and that was the first rain since the beginning of December.
Normally it is dry here from the end of November until mid March except for 1-3 small showers all in all 10-20 mm.
Not good for my orchids since I have to water them with my well water...

[Fuerte Rav]

Sorry Kollba, I didn't realise you normally have such a long dry season.
I'd still place care of the orchid above concern for dove's eggs though!

[Orchidtinkerer]

Originally Posted by Fuerte Rav

Surely it rains in your part of the world? The eggs would get wet then.

No the birds know that getting the eggs wet is a serious risk so when it rains the dove it sitting on the eggs like an umbrella protecting them...

Everyone can do what they want. I am rescuing hedgehogs at mine so my instinct is to save lives, not be the reason for their deaths. But I do eat meat so each to their own.

[Fuerte Rav]

Originally Posted by Orchidtinkerer

No the birds know that getting the eggs wet is a serious risk so when it rains the dove it sitting on the eggs like an umbrella protecting them...

Thanks, I've learnt a lot in this thread!

[Orchidtinkerer]

Dove eggs hatch in as little as 2 weeks but the babies will stay in the nest a further 2 weeks.
It will be an interesting time. Hope the eggs make it

[SouthPark]

hahaha .... not sure what birds do when it rains fuerte. I just assumed that during the egg caring time, that nests open to the rain will have the parent covering the egg until (hopefully) it finishes raining ----- before the parent flies off to get food etc.

Hopefully the birds get the timing right ----- and not like have egg season during monsoon hehehe

[Leafmite]

Cute!

[Roberta]

Doves do get rained on in many places. Birds in general get rained on. The cost of living outside.

[Roberta]

They are prolific little creatures... A couple of years ago (before I figured out how to gently discourage with inverted net pots over the bare parts of the Catt baskets) I had a pair that moved in... raised 3 sets of chicks (so while each set was only about a month, they had my plant tied up for most of the summer... the sprinklers ran on a normal schedule so they got "rained" on, seemed to be no problem, the parents knew how to deal with it), Then one day I saw the male trying to get it on with the female in the yard, and she got up and moved, several times while he persisted. I could almost hear her saying "Enough, already... You want more, YOU can lay the eggs..." In my research I learned that they could do as many as 6 clutches in a season if conditions were favorable.