The Doves nest is located in a Dogwood tree about 7 feet off of the ground. This is the second year in a row that doves have built a nest in that fork of the dogwood tree. Last year the nest was blown out of the tree during a storm.

As you can see, mourning doves eggs are solid white. Their nest is made of small sticks and lined with grass.

The mourning dove is the most abundant game bird in North America with an estimated population of more than 450 million birds. Hunters harvest more than 40 million doves every year in the United States.

Attracting Mourning Doves

We have always lived in areas with high concentrations of doves, so attracting them was not hard. Millet, the tiny seed balls found in "wild bird mixes" generally does a good job of attracting doves if the food is making it's way to the ground. If your feeder isn't allowing some to spill over, a hand full of food tossed out on ground everyday will help the doves.

Another way to help attract doves is with a  dove decoy. These can be found seasonably at Wal-mart or year round at places like Bass Pro Shops, or some other sporting goods stores. The decoys have a clothes pin on the bottom you can attach to a branch or clothes line near your feeder. Other doves see your dove decoys and are attracted to the area.

Here is a pretty good outline of How To Attract Doves Legally, South Carolina’s Official Planting Guide for Dove Fields. Remember this guide is for South Carolina and all regulations may not be the same for other states but the plants discussed and planting information looks pretty good for across the southeast.