Unattended mourning dove egg in nest causing concern

DEAR JOAN >> I have a concern and I hope you can help me. Last year I had three broods of mourning doves. They nested in a wicker basket hanging at the top of my front porch screen door.

Recently, the first brood used the nest and the babies flew away on April 14.

The doves had been coming back and forth, and one day one of them sat in the nest for a longer time. I was able to peek in and saw there was one little perfect egg.

The problem is, they never came back! The little egg is still in the nest and it's been there unattended for about a week, more or less.

Please tell me what I need to do. If they never come back and the egg remains there, then I assume they will never build a nest in the basket again. I'm kind of sad about that but if that's the way it has to be, so be it.

What should I do with the egg if they don't return? Please help.

— Marla Kapit,

Santa Clarita

DEAR MARLA >> Birds will abandon nests for a few reasons, including the presence of a predator in the area or the unexpected death of one or both of the birds, but only time will tell if the nest has really been vacated.

In the early stages of egg-laying, it's not unusual for the birds to be gone from their nests for hours — even days — at a time. Many birds practice what is called delayed incubation. The female will lay one egg every couple of days, but she won't start sitting full time on the nest until she's laid the last one. Before incubation starts, eggs can be left alone for up to two weeks without harm, so there is some hope the pair will return.

When she starts incubating the eggs, there are times when she needs to leave the eggs alone for a short while, but there is a limit. During active incubation, eggs left longer than seven days without warmth won't be viable.

Because mourning doves typically lay two eggs, the incubation process likely hasn't started and the birds may yet get back to the business at hand.

I'd wait at least another week before doing anything. After that, if you're certain the nest and the egg have been abandoned, you could safely clean out the basket, but it wouldn't hurt to leave everything as it is. Predators might take the egg, or new nesters might push it out or build on top of it. We have to trust nature to take care of things.

If the original pair never returns, another couple might move in. It sounds like a dandy nest any mourning dove would enjoy.

DEAR JOAN >> How do I keep my cat from killing the birds in my yard?

— A.J., San Jose

DEAR A.J. >> To be blunt, keep the cat indoors.

You can do things such as putting a bell on the cat's collar — something that is only slightly effective — and growing dense shrubs to provide more places for the birds to hide. You also can stop attracting birds to your yard by taking down feeders and baths, but if your cat doesn't find prey in your yard, it will find it in your neighbors' yards.

Cats are going to do what cats do, which is hunt. The only guarantee is to keep your talented cat inside.