Oh my word, I hope the when Ladyboy crosses to the Bridge it’s easy on her. Same for the Bully.
Is it selfish to hope that enough pidgees have been around your place that a third couple makes it home?
Bully could conceivably take a new mate. Henry’s gone through four now.
Okay, caught them having sex tonight, so the old girl still has some life in her. The Bully was following her around all day, on the balcony and in the air, trying to peck at her and get some. I worry now about new eggs though.
Ladyboy has indeed recovered and is well, but there’s no mistaking she acts a little older now. She eats okay, flies off with her hubby, doesn’t appear sick but is definitely a little slower. They’re still very sweet to each other, preen each other, give each other little head massages with their bills. Even had sex a couple of times we’ve seen but not to the frequency before. We really do hope the eggs are over, because there may be just too many problems with them at this point. At the very least, we don’t want any more stuck inside her like a couple of clutches ago.
So this may be the end game. Patrick, age 5-1/2 months, and Lydia, 4-1/2 months, apparently both female, may be the last squabs to live here. We just have them and the parents at night now.
And … we have another egg! Laid yesterday (Monday), exactly one month after the first egg of the previous (failed) batch. I don’t know whether to be pleased or worried. They’d been having sex, but still, as you know, I’d hoped Ladyboy might be getting too old for eggs. They’d also been transferring twigs from the tree pot to the flower box, where she laid the egg, but still, I thought maybe that was just for form’s sake.
But hopefully we’ll have a Kevin this time. Followed by a Sophie. Ladyboy is acting normal again. I even tested her by trying to touch her on the egg, and she wing-slapped me just like old times. So now we expect the second egg tomorrow (Wednesday), while ETA on the start of hatchings is September 24.
Not to test her but to protect the egg from possible rain, I moved the flower box closer into the balcony. It was far over right by the edge. Ladyboy made clear her displeasure. Acted agitated. Kept pacing back and forth. Would hop into the flower box to stare at the egg, then would hop back out to pace around some more. Kept hanging out around where the flower box was. So I moved the box back, and she was clearly satisfied. Nested back on the egg. Clever girl. This is the height of the rainy season, September’s usually the heaviest rainfall month for Bangkok, but we’re suffering a severe drought. This is hands down the lightest rainy season I’ve experienced in all my years in Thailand. We’re lucky just to get a small shower once a week, if that frequently. So I’m not that worried about rain right now, but if it does start pouring I’ll have to pull the box back over again.
And we have the second egg! Laid right on schedule yesterday evening (Wednesday evening). Let’s hope it’s Kevin and Sophie for real this time.
Mama is pretty much back to normal. When I clean out there, she stays glued to the eggs, all fluffed up, seeming to dare me to touch her or her eggs.
Oh, forgot: It did rain a little hard finally last night. I wasn’t home, but the wife pulled the flower box in a little, and this time Ladyboy accepted it.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for the new pair of pidgees.
Tuesday night and we’re still about nine days away from new hatchings. But I have a few new photos anyway, taken over the past week.
First of all, here is a recovered Ladyboy last Wednesday. She had laid one egg two days before and laid the second egg a few hours after I took this shot.
One thing we’ve noticed is how impressive their nest-building skills have become. When they first moved here a couple of years ago, they’d just throw down a few twigs, and that was that. But in this shot from last Friday of Mama on the nest, you can see how elaborate this nest is that they’ve built this time. And here’s the nest and the two new eggs, with The Bully looking on nervously. And one more. The Bully transferred twigs from the tree pot and flew new ones in too.
And here’s a night scene from Monday. That’s The Bully on the tree pot on the lower left and Mama on the nest in the lower right. On the rails are Lydia above (five months old on Wednesday of next week, the 23rd) and Patrick (six months old this Friday). An all-white crew. Lydia and Patrick are really pretty too. (It’s obvious now that Patrick is a girl too.)
And all the photos are on one page here.
The rains arrived in force Sunday night. Strong wind and rain and, unusually for us, blowing straight into our balcony. The guys just had to take it. Mama stayed on the nest and got soaked. All of them were wet, but she would not abandon the nest to try and huddle behind the tree pot or flower box. There really was not anything we could have done. Hope the eggs came through that okay.
And we have a squab! 
Little Kevin hatched this morning (Friday morning). First squab since poor Herman hatched on July 2. Hopefully Sophie will be next.
Little Sophie seems to be trying to come out. There’s an outward indentation in her egg. I think we’re going to have two squabs this time, the first time since Gary and Kaye four months ago.
Yay! Squabs!
Here I was, thinking Ladyboy was slowing down!
And we have little Sophie! Saturday morning and she must have just hatched, because she’s still all wet. Wiggly too.
Poor old Ladyboy has still got a little left it in her.
I like the name Sophie. I’ll be rooting for both squabs.
Saturday night and they’re both doing well. About 28 and 15 hours old. Or so. One thing I like is The Bully will often let me pet him when he’s on the nest. If he’s not on the nest, he will run if I try to touch him, no ifs, ands or buts. But if he’s on the nest, he’ll often stand his ground if I don’t move too quickly. Then I’ll pet him or give him a little “shoulder rub” or “back massage.” You can tell he’s not happy about this, at least not at first, but I can’t help myself. No way Ladyboy will accept this, she goes all Warrior Mama and wing-slaps me, really gets angry. But The Bully will grudgingly let me, and then you can see he finally decides it’s not so bad after all. I’ve learned he especially likes a little “magic fingers” back massage.
We were a little late coming home tonight, and the parents were glad to see us. They both jumped up on the window, signalling their desire for snackies, but The Bully kept flapping his wings and bouncing up and down, just in case we didn’t notice him. Fed them forthwith.
I’m especially glad the squabs worked out this time, because this is the third time we’ve tried for a Sophie and the second for a Kevin.
Wednesday night and a few shots of the new squabs.
Here’s Dad watching over day-old Kevin and freshly hatched Sophie last Saturday. One more. And a close-up. Note little Sophie’s “angel wing.” I think she was wiggling around at the time.
Then on Monday, here they are at two and three days.
And a shot from today (Wednesday) at ages five and four. You can see Kevin has his eyes open now. So does Sophie, but she’s conked out in this shot. Rough day, I guess.
And the single page is here.
Five-month-old Lydia may be leaving us. she was gone Monday night, came back Tuesday night and is gone again tonight. Six-month-old Patrick seems perfectly happy staying here. Her two months missing may have been enough for her.
Wednesday morning. Kevin and Sophie are 12 and 11 days old and seem to be doing well. Nearing the end of the Jabba their Hutt phase. Looks like they’ll both be whities. They’re not walking yet, but they can scoot to the far end of the flower box and back. Cute.
And the parents are being all sweet to each again.
Lydia spends every other night here, not missed two nights in a row yet. She was gone last night, so we’ll see about tonight. Patrick seems perfectly content to stay here and not leave again.
Don’t those two ever quit?
They’re like a pair of horny teenagers.
Friday morning. Kevin’s made it to two weeks, Sophie to 13 days. Looks like they’re not going to be fully white. Kevin will have a lot of gray mixed with white, a dirty white, Sophie less gray but some. “Furry” little guys.
I think we’re correct on the genders this time. Kevin is much larger than Sophie.
More pics soon.