- June 17, 2026
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Ali and Sylvia Abdelsalam are quick to note all the positive references when it comes to doves.
They point out that, worldwide, doves represent peace and harmony.
Doves also are considered a blessing to your home if they nest nearby, bringing good fortune and new beginnings.
Consider the Abdelsalams blessed.
A family of doves has made its home inside one of two wreaths that adorn the front door of their River Club home.
That would be no big deal for most, but the Abdelsalams took the whole birds-in-the-door are better than two-in-the-bush thing to the extreme.
They have taped off their front door to both themselves and all who would come to visit. The more than month-long experience has caused Ali Abdelsalam to proclaim another benefit that doves bring.
"The last three weeks, we have saved money on Amazon, which loves my wife," he said.
The couple laughed together before Sylvia admitted that it is indeed true she isn't shopping online so deliveries don't arrive at the front door and disturb the mother (they call her Lovey), father (they call him Dovey) and their two babies (no names yet).
The Abdelsalams aren't using the front door themselves and they have cut off that access to their son, Daniel, and daughter, Alisa, as well. They are both grown, so neither lives at the home, but they both live in the neighborhood and know better than to approach the door at this time.
It has been somewhat of a burden for the family, but the Abdelsalams have also enjoyed watching nature's wonders.
Sylvia Abdelsalam said the elder doves arrived a few weeks ago and began building a nest. Ali Abdelsalam said he initially saw the doves trying to nest under the eaves of the home. As time passed, they found broken eggs on the ground so they figured the dove babies had a not-so-happy ending.
Instead, though, the doves had moved their efforts to a wreath on the home's front door. The Abdelsalams watched them build the nest over the next four days.
It became apparent that two babies were in the nest, helpless. The mother would sit on the newly hatched babies all day long while the father dove was out scavenging for food. The pair would switch places at dusk and the mother would return in the morning to begin her brooding shift.
"It was stunning to us," Sylvia Abdelsalam said.
Although their front doors have glass windows embedded in them, the glass is frosted so the Abdelsalams could only watch the outline of the parents caring for the young from the inside. They also gated off the front room of their home to their dogs — a shih tzu called Googlee and a Pomeranian shih tzu named Kola — so their pets would not disturb the birds.
They also taped off their walkway to the front door.
"Some of the neighbors thought people were stealing packages from our front door," Ali Abdelsalam said. "But really, the doves are holding us hostage."
Ali Abdelsalam should know about hostages as his many acting roles in the movies and television shows have included scenes involving hostages.
He has played roles in "Joker," "Madam Secretary," "Sneaky Pete," "Homeland," "New Amsterdam," "The Get Down," "The Blacklist" and many more.
Sylvia Abdelsalam is a Realtor for Keller Williams Suncoast.
They said they have had home encounters with wildlife in the past.
"When we purchased this house four years ago, there was a squirrel that followed us around, bleeding," Sylvia Abdelsalam said.
They made sure wildlife experts came to help the squirrel.
Once again, they feel the need to help.
"We watch the doves constantly and we feel we have to protect them," Ali Abdelsalam said.
Audubon experts say the Abdelsalams are doing a great job going above and beyond.
"It is so sweet they are doing this," said Lisa Wood, the director of Education and Outreach for Save Our Seabirds. "Mourning doves are preyed upon and are at the bottom of the barrel (of the bird food chain). They are picked on easily. And the babies kind of have to survive the craziness of the world for two weeks."
Wood said that observing the birds is OK, but she said people should not try to interact with them.
"It can become a habit for the birds to reach out to human resources," she said.
Wood said Save Our Seabirds has a hotline at Saveourseabirds.org for those who are seeking help for birds that have nested at their homes.
Aaron Virgin of the Sarasota Audubon Society, who leads wildlife walks in Lakewood Ranch, said what the Abdelsalams are doing is "fantastic."
He also offered a few tips.
"You want to give the birds space," he said. "Don't use your iPhones (to take photos). Use a camera with a long lens.
"And keep your cats indoors."
Wood said cats are "the No. 1 reason baby birds are killed.
"Cats are good at it," she said.
Virgin said doves typically will let people know if they are getting too close. Many times they will simply fly away, and they won't be back until they are sure the threat is gone.
He said if a baby has fallen out of the nest, many times it is best just to leave the bird alone.
"If might be flightless for a day or two, and then it will be OK," he said.
But if the bird is a true hatchling, he said it is OK to put it back into the nest.
"There is a misconception that you can't touch them because your smell will be on them and the parents won't come back," he said. "That is not true. You will be perfectly fine putting them back in the nest."
If you aren't sure, he said contact a wildlife resource such as Save Our Seabirds.
He also said to just use common sense.
"If you let a child know the birds are there, make sure they know right from wrong so (baby birds) won't be a target," he said.
Mary Alice Curtiss, a bird naturalist and an Audubon member, said she is thrilled the couple would put in the extra effort not to disturb the doves.
"Doves are not the smartest when it comes to where they will build a nest," Curtiss said. "They don't make the best choices. In many countries, they would be making a pie out of those birds."
Curtiss emphasized that for two weeks, the babies (hatchlings) would be bald and helpless. She said they go through periods being hatchlings, nestlings and fledglings.
She said it is best to let the parents raise their young. If observing them, use binoculars from a distance.
Curtiss also noted that people can help all kinds of birds and their families by not putting out rat poison or being careful with the flea and ticket products they use on their pets.
"Birds love pet fur," she said.
She noted that mourning doves are "super breeders" and will continue that trend all summer. She said the Abdelsalams would be smart to get rid of the nest in their wreath once the fledglings have left the nest. If they don't, she said it is likely the doves could come back for the next round, and the Abdelsalams would lose the use of their front door once again.
Ali Abdelsalam knows what he is going to do once the fledglings leave the nest. Having birds on your front door can be a dirty process.
"I am going to power wash the front door," he said.
But Wood loves what they are done so far.
"God bless them for being vigilant," she said.
