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Butler County 'jailbirds' get a free pass from Sheriff Richard Jones

Butler County 'jailbirds' get a free pass from Sheriff Richard Jones
Posted at 4:42 PM, Apr 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-07 16:42:33-04

HAMILTON, Ohio -- The Butler County Sheriff’s Office will book a pair of new arrivals within the next few weeks, but they’ll be free to go as soon as they’re strong enough to fly.

The sheriff’s office posted Friday on Facebook that a female mourning dove nicknamed “Jailbird” had decided to nest in the front windshield of one of its official vehicles.

Accord to the post, Sheriff Richard Jones ordered his workers not to use the vehicle until Jailbird’s two squabs have hatched -- a process that takes about two weeks. It may be about two more until the chicks are prepared to leave the nest; mourning doves fledge at around 11 days of age, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

“I always take care of my jailbirds,” Jones wrote on Twitter.

It makes sense that Jones feels so protective of the office's new avian arrivals -- of all the sheriffs in Greater Cincinnati, he's probably the one most fond of tweeting.