Fledge

Sunday evening, 7:35pm. Darker than picture shows Dove baby now on fuse box surface watching the world.

Back up on top of nest

And then baby took off. I ducked, because babies  fly well, but navigate poorly.  Baby landed on dirt under bushes across the path. Dark bird, dark soil, no direct light. 7:42 p.m.

I tested the flash off to the side. Baby didn't flinch, so I used diffused flash or there would have been no documentation. My major concern was whether the parents would find their child.  It was under the bushes, not visible from above.

Parents arrived.   Baby flew straight up to a thick branch, but could not cling, tumbled back down into the dirt.

Baby flew up to back of bench, also thick wood. Couldn't cling. Fell back onto the dirt again.

When I finally headed back upstairs all was fine. Adult pecking. Baby nearby. Parent birds don't snuggle their kids. They feed them, then ignore them. I don't know if I'll ever find this baby again.