Our Scientific Observation

Not long after Pesach, two doves decided to build a nest and lay eggs right outside our bedroom window. We weren't sure if it was an opportunity to do Shiloach HaKan, and we've B"H done it many times already...so we decided to leave it be and observe nature.

It was a MAJOR ATTRACTION in the Yunger house. For weeks, each morning the kids would wake up and run into our room and climb onto my bed so they could see. Every day, Bruria would scream,"The birdie came back!" (I don't think she realized that there was a bird there all the time).

Yisrael became a real expert on the whole incubating process- he knows all about the Mama bird keeping the eggs warm until they hatch, and then feeding them worms until they are big enough to learn how to fly.

We must have missed the actual hatching, because one day the Mama (or really Papa, since it was during the day) flew away for a moment, and we saw two cute little birds (although they were much bigger than we had expected the newborns to be!) After that, the parents started leaving the babies on their own for short intervals, so we got a chance to watch them. The biggest excitement was when the parents brought food for the babies, and they would jump and flap their wings to grab it first!

Yisrael was heartbroken when the "big brother" (translation: bigger bird) flew away. He kept checking out the window to see if it would come back. Every time we saw a bird outside, he'd say "I see the big brother!"

All it all, it was a great learning experience, but it left an AWFUL mess on the windowsill!