3 week old baby boy ~ and his mom

It’s a portrait of a 3 week old male baby mourning dove ~ he’s really only about 7 inches tall and was perched on the fence for a while this morning so I went out to visit with him. The entire family allows me to visit within a foot of them because they’ve seen me so often and heard me talking to them. He’s looking pretty scrawny still, and I’ve posted a photo of his mom as a reminder of what he will look like when he’s grown out of this “tween” stage. He was so anxious to leave the nest and I kind of felt like he left a day or two too early. From watching birds for so long, I know they have a tough life, always needing to look out for predators. I’m hoping this little one will come back again for a bit each day so that I can see how he’s doing. I haven’t seen the little female dove at all. All anyone can do is hope for the best for these precious little lives.