Mourning Doves in the Spring

We have mourning doves that frequent our back deck all during the year but there seem to be more of them in the spring and summer. I love their gentle coo sounds. Sometimes they are a nuisance – building their nests in a gutter resulting in a clogged downspout in the next heavy rain.

Back in 2016 it seemed like they were using our deck railing as a favorite courting/mating spot…and it’s happening again this year! I have been away from how so much recently that I was surprised to catch them in the act!

I wonder if the occasional red tailed and red shouldered hawks that we see are attracted to our area by the doves that seem so plentiful already (and are evidently prolific too).