May 10th, 2006
simplicity
At the end of April, I posted a photo of a pair of Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) that inhabit the gardens here at the farm. For a couple of weeks, I repeatedly saw them moving from tree to tree, always staying together. They’ve been a little less conspicuous for the past week, so I concluded that they must have built a nest and were sitting on eggs some place close by.
Monday, while walking along one of the trails just beyond the garden, I happened upon their nest. I can’t claim to have “found” it, because I would have walked right on by. No, the nest found me — or more correctly, I was made aware of it as one of the doves came rocketing out of the branches next to me, almost knocking off my hat as it flew off through the trees. I think we mutually scared the heck out of each other. I looked to where the dove had emerged, and sure enough, there was the nest in plain view, resting atop two spruce tree branches at about my shoulder height in a small tree right next to the trail. I shot a quick photo and moved along to let the doves get back to their business.
Looking at the photo later, I was taken by the simplicity of the nest – there’s something distinctly ascetic about its design. It’s a minimalist creation. A couple of handfuls of carefully chosen materials — what look to be the straight, dried stalks of some plant — cleverly arranged upon two supporting spruce branches in such as way that it forms a gently concave platform. Two perfect white eggs resting at the center of a shallow bowl. A small but elegant composition. Simplicity.
Tags: Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura, nest