Doves Nesting in Spruce Tree New Beginnings

by Jake's Mom
(New England)

A mother dove nested in a Blue Spruce tree in our yard, bringing us a front-row seat to her family's spring journey. Here's our story.

In mid-April, I looked out my bedroom window to check if the tulips I planted last fall had opened, hoping to see some colorful signs of spring.

Much to my surprise, in the dwarf blue spruce tree outside, a beautiful Mourning dove was sitting calmly on a newly built nest.

We couldn't believe it, right there, so close, a mother dove had chosen our tree to bring new life.

Each day, we watched eagerly, trying to catch a glimpse of the highly anticipated hatchlings.

Finally, they arrived, and we couldn't stop taking photos of the baby doves nestled closely together in the nest.

They stayed on the nest for two weeks, and we were thankful that nothing threatened them during that precious time.

One morning, we awoke to the soft sound of dove cooing, something we hadn't heard since she began nesting.

We assumed the doves had remained silent until now to avoid alerting any predators.

Curiously, we peeked out the window and noticed that mom dove and her two baby squabs as we learned they are called, were moving about more actively than usual.

We kept checking on them all morning, but around noon, the birds were gone.

We were sad to see them go, but hopeful they would survive and not become prey for a hungry cat or hawk.

We love cats and even have two of our own we keep in the house, but for these doves, we wanted only the best chance of survival.


Later that day, while putting away laundry, I noticed one of our cats was sitting on the window sill, his tail twitching.

I looked out and saw the two baby doves on the ground under the Blue Spruce tree, huddled together quietly.

They stayed there under that pine tree for about three to four days, and although we worried about their safety, we could do nothing but watch and hope.

On Saturday morning, we checked again, and the young doves seemed more active.

They were flexing their wings, moving around, and sitting on a decorative rock in the landscaping, warming themselves in the sun.

They continued this activity throughout the morning, and by around 11:00, they were gone once more.

Again, we were a bit sad, but this time, hopeful they'd managed a successful first flight.

Much to our delight, a week or so later, we noticed that "our dove" had returned to the same nest.

Although we haven't seen the new eggs, we're confident she's caring for another batch of baby doves.

We'll continue observing this dove family and the miracle of wildlife unfolding just a few feet from our window.

It's an exceptional honor to witness this tiny slice of Mother Nature at work right outside our home.

P.S. This photo was taken by squeezing the camera lens through the wooden blinds with the window closed.

We didn't want to open the blinds or window and risk disturbing mom dove and her babies.