We Have Pigeon Eggs

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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A few photos. I’ve started a separate website, as the wife’s was starting to get cluttered.

Here and here are Big Pidgee standing guard on Wednesday while Little Pidgee prepares to lay the new eggs, which she started doing the next day.

Here and here you can see how intricate the new nest has become. LOTS of twigs used in this construction. The first egg of the fourth clutch was laid later this day, Thursday.

Here is Big Pidgee snug in the new nest and sitting on the egg on Friday. The second egg was laid by Little Pidgee the next day.

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We had a bit of a scare Tuesday. Big Pidgee disappeared! He did not show up for the Switch all day. Poor Little pidgee was stuck on the nest. There have been times in the past when she’s snuck out for a break but not this time. She seemed to be getting a little antsy by early afternoon, so figuring she might be hungry, I broke up a slice of bread and scattered the pieces in the far end of the flower box, the end opposite the nest. But I inadvertently bonked her on the head with one of the little pieces, causing her to freak out, flap around a bit and flee. Oops! She settled down after a while, though, and returned. But she never ate the bread! The pieces are still out there in the box, untouched.

But Big Pidgee did return the next day, Wednesday, with no explanation as to where he was. And he’s usually the more responsible parent. He’s never not shown up before. Maybe there was some sort of domestic dispute. Who knows? A good measure of how much these birds have gotten under our skin is the fact that while I was out late in the bars Tuesday night, I found myself preoccupied with what could have happened to Big Pidgee.

New photos! :smiley: Monday, the day before Big Pidgee’s disappearance, Little Pidgee took off, leaving the eggs exposed. Looking out, I saw Big Pidgee on top of the closest window frame, the one to our dining area, so she must have seen him and not waited around for him to land and officially take over his duties. He looked a little concerned when I stepped out onto the balcony to take this photo of Marty and Katie. Then I heard his wings flapping, and he landed right behind me. He bravely walked right past me, stopped to give me this dirty look, then hopped back into the nest like so. And here and here, he’s settled back in. Those last two shots really bring out the iridescence of his neck. He’s such a pretty bird! And I’m still amazed at how intricate they made the latest nest; they built that all by themselves! (I don’t think this incident had anything to do with his disappearance the next day, but you can never tell.)

Yesterday (Wednesday), the day of Big Pidgee’s reappearance, Sammy also made a brief reapparance. Eight weeks old, he landed on the top rail of the balcony along with a friend. Sammy’s markings are very unique, so I’m sure it was he. Big Pidgee hopped out of the flower box and looked about ready to fly up and chase them away – probably he didn’t mind Sammy so much as the stranger, but you never know – but the stranger seemed uncomfortable with my staring and seemed to fly off because of that, with Sammy following. Big Pidgee reassumed his position on the eggs.

Yesterday was also Loy Krathong, a popular festival even though it’s not an official holiday. It involves floating a krathong – a small vessel traditionally made from a banana leaf but more commonly now made of Styrofoam – with a small candle in it onto a body of water. It’s best celebrated upcountry. Here in Bangkok, for a while it had degenerated into a bunch of drunken louts running around throwing firecrackers at everyone, although the authorities seem to have successfully cracked down on that to some degree. Still, lots of noisy fireworks last night, and Little Pidgee seemed rather alarmed. We tried to assure her that we weren’t the ones doing it. That must have been very frightening for her; even though, we’re six stories up, it was still LOUD.

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Some strange behavior. We think it’s due to the change of season. Some days ago, the rains abruptly stopped, and we entered our “cool” season. It can get a bit brisk – downright cold in the mountains of the North – especially when the wind blows. It’s been a little windy these past couple of nights, and yesterday morning (Saturday morning), little Pepper showed up again, 57 days old. (The wife thought she saw her a day or two before out her dressing-room window; ours is a corner unit, and that would be on another side of the building.)

Pepper seemed exhausted, like Snowy of the first batch did after her first outing. All Pepper wanted to do was sleep. Big Pidgee did not chase her away. We left for the day, and when we returned after dark, Pepper was gone, and the Switch had occurred, with Little Pidgee on duty now, but there was Big Pidgee perched on the edge of the balcony! First time we’ve ever seen him here at night. He later crouched down behind the potted-tree “living room.” We figure the lower temperature and wind may have been getting to him, so he stayed here. That could have been the deal with Pepper, too, the wind giving her a hard night before. Having never stayed here at night before, Big Pidgee semed quite surprised when we came home and turned on the lights.

And Sammy and friend showed up again on Friday. Again, Big Pidgee hopped out to chase the Friend away, but they both seemed to leave because of me watching.

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I’ve heard if you have pigeons on your balcony you keep opening the door it can lead to shoulder injuries. You don’t have any shoulder injuries, do you?

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Funny you should ask. :smiley:

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Wednesday morning here, and we’re getting close to hatching. Marty should pop out next Sunday or Monday by my reckoning. We’ll see how much of an “expert” I’ve become in predicting this. But I’m sure I’ll see Marty before I return to the hospital next week for more shoulder surgery, although Katie may not hatch until after I’m in there. We’ll see.

Big Pidgee now stays here every night. Started doing this with the turn of seasons. It’s the “cool” season now, the rains having stopped, even though we have had a couple of showers in the past week, I think due to some sort of cyclone off of southern Vietnam. The Switch will occur about 4 or 5pm, then Big Pidgee will return about dusk. The odd thing is the two will not even ackowledge each other at this time. Big Pidgee will take a big drink of water, then set up on the ledge over where Sammy used to like to be and stay there all night. He leaves at dawn, then returns around 9am for the Switch.

Both parents keep “digging” with their bills into the nest directly underneath the eggs. I’m not sure what they’re trying to do. They’re not adjusting the eggs, but rather poking down through the twigs like they’re trying to get at something. I’ve stared hard at the flower box up close a couple of times and can see no ants or other bugs anywhere, so I don’t think it’s that. Whenever they see me looking, no matter how far away, they stop. Dunno what that’s all about.

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Interesting times, interesting times! It’s amazing to me that you can tell all the squabs apart, well enough to recognize them by name when they come back. I just love these updates!

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Thanks. :cool: Sammy’s markings are unique enough that we can easily tell him. He stopped by again for the third time that we saw last Friday, and always he’s with the same friend, a sort of spotty-headed bird – but not the spotty-headed one that kept coming around to check the place out for a while. Pepper and Manny both resemble Little Pidgee; when Pepper came back exhausted last week, I thought it was Little Pidgee at first. But you get to know their markings pretty well, and anyway if it’s not one of theirs, Big Pidgee tends to chase it away.

The Switch just occurred about six minutes ago, too. Big Pidgee is out there now. Even at the Switch, there’s not much acknowledgement of each other. Sort of like they’re just doing their job. They get most affectionate at mating time. But I just took a close look at where the eggs are, and there are no bugs anywhere.

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And we have a squab! :smiley: :cool: Marty hatched this afternoon (Monday afternoon), right on schedule, 18 days after being laid. I saw the Switch this morning, and both eggs were still intact. Went out for a while this afternoon and returned, and the Switch occurred a little after 4pm. That’s when I saw Marty and his empty eggshell. A very pale yellow this one. It must also have been Little Pidgee’s first look at him, too, because he hatched after she left this morning, under Big Pidgee’s watch. She checked him out briefly, then settled down on top of him and the other egg, which should hatch anytime between tomorrow and Thursday.

Big Pidgee is still staying here at night, too. He returns just before dark, stays over on the edge of the balcony all night, then leaves at daybreak. That seems to be the pattern for the “cool” season.

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And Katie hatched out this morning (Tuesday morning). :smiley: I have not had a clear look at her yet, but she seems a darker yellow than her brother. Marty has been wiggling around more and getting fed by Little Pidgee this morning, so I’ve been able to see him pretty well.

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As per my latest shoulder-surgery thread, I was just informed I can have my operation tomorrow instead of next week, but I’ve got to hustle and get to the hospital today.

I’m glad I was able to catch a glimpse of Katie today, but I won’t see her clearly for a few days. The Switch has already occurred this morning (Tuesday morning), but I missed it. I did get some good shots of little day-old Marty being fed but will have to wait until the weekend to upload those.

Talk to you in a few days!

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They sound adorable! Good luck with the surgery!!

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Thanks! We got another call. The doctor had mistakenly thought today (Tuesday) was Wednesday, so he meant the operation would be on Thursday. Oops! :frowning: So I don’t go in until tomorrow.

I’ll try to get a few shots of Katie, too, but probably won’t be able to upload any until the weekend anyway.

(Real Name Removed)

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You take care! We like hearing about the birds, but your shoulder is more important.

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Back from the hospital. The squabs have grown. Four and five days old now, Saturday morning here. Will post some photos soon, but they look pretty much the same as the others at this point at the same age. Marty is a lighter yellow than Katie.

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Sunday morning, and the squabs are five and six days old. Little Pidgee has again reached the point where she’ll take off and leave them alone at daybreak. She must really trust us with them. We speculate the more permanent nest structure could be a result of their deciding we’re pretty safe after all.

Big Pidgee still staying here at night, also leaving at daybreak. The morning I left for the hospital, Sammy and Pepper stopped by! Sammy stopped by again yesterday, but with his friend. Just briefly and on the top rail of the balcony. Occasionally, a non-relative will land, and if that happens while Big Pidgee is here, he chases it away pronto. Really cute to watch, he looks so serious; you can almost see him “rolling up his sleeve” as he ambles toward them. But for Sammy and other offspring, he’s more tolerant.

Promise to load photos soon.

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As per doctor’s orders, I have to turn my computer off and give the old arm a good rest for a few days. Will have the wife upload some photos, then I’ll post them this weekend when I’m back online. Marty and Katie are cute (sort of) little guys.

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Friday morning in Thailand. Marty and Katie are 11 and 10 days old, respectively. As promised there are some new photos below. The squabs look pretty much the same as the previous batches, though, but their feathers are coming in now, and we expect to be able to see their markings clearly in the next week.

Tuesday, November 25
Here is mother Little Pidgee with 1-day-old Marty. I think you can just see part of Katie, freshly hatched, to the right of the eggshell.

Little Pidgee is feeding Marty here. And later in the day, father Big Pidgee poses with Marty here; Katie is still hiding.
Saturday, November 29
Feeding time with Big Pidgee here. Fully sated, here and here we see Katie, left, and Marty, right, 4 and 5 days old now, respectively. The round holes you see are actually their earholes, not their eyes.
Sunday, November 30
Here are Katie, left, and Marty, 5 and 6 days now. You can compare Marty’s eye with his earhole. Another one here from the same day, with Marty on the left this time; that’s cute the way he’s got his little wing out.
Tuesday, December 2
Mother and child. Not sure which squab this is, but it’s either 7 or 8 days old. The other squab’s got its butt sticking out.
Wednesday, December 3
Here, here and here, the squabs are 8 and 9 days old. Their feathers are really starting to come in now.
Thursday, December 4
Hanging out here and here yesterday, 9 and 10 days old. I very much like this one: “Here’s lookin’ at ya!” As you can see, squabs are definitely cuter from the side than from the front. And one more here.
Friday, December 5
And that brings us up to today. This one is a side shot, with Marty, 11 days, on the far side, little Katie, 10 days, on this side. And one more, with Marty on the left and Katie on the right; note Marty’s earhole, which will eventually be completely covered with feathers.

And you can see the whole page of photos here.

I apologize for all of the shit in the photos. You can see the squabs have been active about making deposits. It’s cute when they do it, though, as they’ll actually back up, crap, then pull forward again, I guess in an instinctive attempt to keep the shit out of the nest. Doesn’t work! We’ll be cleaning the balcony tomorrow. Especially with both parents staying here at night now, there’s a lot of shit to clean up. Luckily, it’s rather localized now; just wait until the squabs start running around the balcony!

Sammy from the previous batch keeps stopping by, usually with what I can only assume by now is his mate. He’s a fast worker! He’s so pretty and his mate so awkward-looking that we’re wondering if Sammy’s a girl after all. But now Big Pidgee has taken to chasing even Sammy away.

Big Pidgee will chase away all comers, if he’s here. The parents spend a good deal of the day away now, leaving the squabs on their own and returning intermittently for a feeding. There are only three or four pigeons including Sammy that keep trying to check the place out. Big Pidgee gets visibly frustrated by them. You can see him sort of huffing shortly before marching over to chase them away. And I mean marching; he looks like he’s squaring his shoulders and rolling up his sleeves, except he doesn’t have any shoulders, or sleeves. There is a pretty white one with black speckles; yesterday it didn’t even land on the balcony, but rather over on the closest window frame, while Big Pidgee was here. He hopped off his rail marched over to the center of the balcony, wandered in a frustrated circle for a moment, then hopped up on the edge of the balcony and kept eyeballing the white pigeon. Finally, he flew over to chase it away.

With the previous batches, Little Pidgee started staying elsewhere at night about this time, but now with Big Pidgee deciding he likes our balcony rail as a nighttime roost, she stays here with him, usually on the rail with him instead of in the flower box with the squabs.

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Awesome pictures – I particularly like the commentary. :slight_smile: Thanks for sharing them and keeping the stories and updates coming. Hope your shoulder’s healing well.

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Wow, they really do have yellow feathers on their heads.