The wife came home this afternoon while I was out, and she said Henry was lounging on the green edge of the concrete to the far left, away from the wall, looking out and cooing. So he was calling to somone. But was he calling to someone in particular? Or just calling out that he was available?
The Stranger has figured out there’s food in the flower box. Came around twice this morning (Wednesday morning) – alone, without Little Pidgee – and was in the box eating. Ran, or flew, away like a scared rabbit when he saw he’d been caught in the act, once when the wife saw him and once when I did. When I saw him, I heard a loud “FWUMP” as he broke the sound barrier getting away. Really. A very skittish guy. Henry’s out there now, but he wasn’t around earlier. Feathers would have been flying if he had been.
Good news! Henry slept here last night (Monday night)! This was his second attempt. Last time, I ended up frightening him away when I tried to change his water. Despite it being dark and late at night, he flew away to “safety.” This time, I didn’t try to go out.
The wife didn’t come home until after dark, so Henry must have figured the place would be empty all night. But he still kept a wary eye on us. He must have been really surprised when the wife made her entrance. Then I come home, and he must have been thinking: “Oh no! There’s the other one, too! I’m trapped!”
When it came time for us to go to bed, and I needed to close the curtains, he started getting very nervous. We have to close the curtains here, or else the tropical sun comes blazing in in the morning. So I turned off all the lights and then moved in to close them. That worked! He didn’t seem to notice anything.
First thing this morning, he was cooing. But he doesn’t seem to have a mate. Was he advertising himself?
That was the last time Henry slept here at night, mentioned in the last post. But he spends a good part of each day out on the balcony, maybe most of the day. Perches on the green edge in the morning and keeps cooing, like he’s calling for a mate.
And Henry did something completely new on Wednesday: Climbed into his water dish for a bath! The plastic container we use now is a little larger and deeper than the previous one. As far as we know, he’s never climbed in before. There have never been any signs of bathing. No excess water spilled out.
But he sure seemed to enjoy it. Would turn over on each side and stretch his opposite wing way up into the air and hold it there while he soaked one side. Looked like synchronized swimming. Then went and laid out to dry off, like we’ve seen some of the squabs do in the past. I love watching pigeons bathe!
Reminds me of our pigeons at the old house. I got a large round terra cotta tray and painted it a turquoise swimming pool color. About once a week if the weather was nice & sunny - usually on a Saturday (don’t know how they knew) - they’d all decide at once that it’s bath day. They’d queue up for their turn in the pool, and I’d end up having to change the water a few times throughout the day. Pigeons get dusty! Half of them would be doing their ballet stretching exercises, with one leg stretched straight out behind them and one wing stretched up skyward. The other half would sit down in the sun and puff out all their feathers so they looked like little porcupine balls spread all over the driveway. Our paved driveway area was definitely a feeding, bathing, hanging out and socializing area, not a mating/nesting area. For nesting, there was the roof & eaves of an old church a block or two away they used. When I was walking home past the church I could whistle to the pigeons and they’d all take to the air and head straight to my house, knowing I’d be there soon with treats.
The past couple of mornings, a female has come around, and Henry gets all excited. A little TOO excited, because he seems to frighten her away unintentionally with his advances. He’s very unsubtle, a bit like: “Come here, woman!” And she ends up fleeing the scene. But she keeps coming back, so she must be interested. Gray and with markings like Sammy of the third batch, although it’s not Sammy. This one seems rather young. Has a very sweet face.
The Girl appeared again yesterday morning (Tuesday morning), but she seems to be interested only in the food. She and Henry were far apart on the rails, she apparently decided it was safe to make a move for the food, hopped down to go to the flower box, and Wham! Henry tried to jump her, and she flew away.
Later, she, the Stranger and Little Pidgee (first sighting in weeks) all three arrived while Henry was away. I wonder if she’s related to them, or at least to Little Pidgee. Maybe Big Pidgee was her father, and she came from another nest? She seems too old to be a product of the Stranger and Little Pidgee.
Thanks for keeping us posted on the latest in the ongoing Pidgee saga!
You’re welcome. Henry is sitting right outside now as I type this, hanging out in the “living room” (right-hand tree pot). 
The Girl managed to sneak in the other day and get some food while Henry was gone. Then she saw me, and even though I was far away from the window, she completely freaked out. Flew away.
I like pigeons so much, and I love watching a nest.
Congratulations!
Thanks! And Henry took another bath earlier this week. We love watching pidgees bathe. Henry concentrates so hard on it. He fell asleep soaking this time, too.
The Henry situation is pretty much static. The Girl has stopped coming by. Henry still hangs out much of the day. The Stranger/Marty will often sneak in to eat when Henry’s not here, and occasionally Little Pidgee will make a return appearance. Henry appears to enjoy a varied diet, as while he knows there’s food here, we often see him hunting for bugs on the mansion lawn next door, along with other pigeons. We’re at the height of the rainy season now, and the water is pushing them up out of the ground. Must be a real feast.
I’ll have to take some new photos. He’s so beautiful, but he’s not changed from the last photos. It’s not like the squabs, where they change every day.
Woo hoo! I am pleased to report that Henry FINALLY got himself a little nookie. Go, Henry! 
Yesterday afternoon (Thursday afternoon). I missed it myself, but the wife watched the whole thing. It was a small girl – not the Girl, but rather a small Little-Pidgee look-alike. The wife thinks it COULD have been George, the last squab (the last one to survive. Poor Bob. 
) If so, she – we had arbitrarily decided George was a he, thus the name – would be 5 months old now.
The wife had the impression this was still a very young bird. She said Henry was much bigger, that when they started kissing, he towered over her, and when they did the deed it looked like he would crush her. Afterward, they both seemed very pleased, and the female, walking off in a daze, strolled through the water dish without seeming to notice it.
So, Henry likes the young girls, eh? Well, this IS Thailand, after all.
This morning, I’ve not seen Henry, but I did inadvertently scare away a little pidgee that fit the description. And the Girl has also come back a couple of times since yesterday looking for food, so there may be a love triangle developing.
In case Henry and his lady want to build a nest in the flower box, I’ll stop putting food in there. I’ve set out another separate container of food again.
Oh hum…(tapping fingers on desk)…
Well, whether that was George or not, she’s disappeared. Showed up maybe one more time. But the Girl has been coming around much more, every day now. Still extremely skittish, though. And Henry seems to adore her. He gets all excited when she comes around, coos and dances, so we always know when she’s landed nearby on the window frames.
They both took a bath yesterday (Thursday), although not at the same time (no room). He lets her in to eat and clearly is fascinated with her. However, she’s rejected all of his advances so far and is plainly here just for the food.
Henry has clearly moved in and considers the balcony his daytime hangout. Wish we knew where he slept at night. The Girl, too.
I’m still really enjoying this saga!
Thanks!
Not much happening; a routine has settled in. Henry is still mongering after the ladies, especially the Girl. He almost stayed here last night (Monday night), as the wife returned home just when it was turning dark at 6:30pm and found him still out there. (He probably thought no one would be home last night.) But yesterday was an unofficial holiday called Loy Krathong, and so people were setting off fireworks in the neighborhood. The wife said Henry seemed very bothered by the noise, looked at her like she was responsible for this and then flew away.
A new, very beautiful pidgee has been showing up with the Girl, and this morning Henry did not try to chase it away, so I’m wondering if it’s a female, too. I managed to take some photos of it and the Girl. Will have to post those soon.
New Photos!
Henry has well and truly settled in. He has his own sleeping spot elsewhere, but he always shows up shortly after daybreak for some breakfast. Sill hangs around a good part of the day. Eats and chases girls, often comically so. It’s very entertaining! In addition to the youngish Girl mentioned before, her mother stops by now. We figure it’s her parent, because one time the Girl tried to get a feeding from her, and we know she’s female because Henry tries to diddle her. We’ve dubbed her the Pretty One, because she resembles a Jackson Pollock painting, with all of her colors, even greens and purples. We’ve delayed giving them names until it’s for certain they’ll stay.
Despite his brief liaison with George(ia), she rarely comes around, and he spends so much of his time cooing and dancing in front of the females – especially the Girl, who seems to be his first choice, but also her mother, the Pretty One – but they just want to eat and will run from him. Sometimes he leaves them be to eat, sometimes he makes it clear he wants some action.
Henry will let any female pigeon stop by but chases the males away. Marty, who turns one year old later this month, is about the only male pigeon that tries to show up, always with Little Pidgee. They’ll try to sneak in when Henry is away. Henry considers Marty his his mortal enemy and will attack him immediately upon sight. They’ve even fought over on the window frames. (I have the impression Henry considers the entire building his, or at least this side.) But he never attacks Little Pidgee; just Marty, while Little Pidgee stands by. Henry always wins.
What’s neat, too, is when Henry does a patrol of the building. Really. We live in a rather narrow tower, 36 floors but only five units maximum per floor. Sometimes we’ll see Henry take off to the left and disappear around the building, and a few minutes later he reappears and lands from the right, having circled the building just for the heck of it apparently. Other times, he flies around out in front of the balcony, gliding gracefully; he really has a good time,
So here are some more photos, taken over the past two months:
Henry at rest. Nice wing design there.
Snoozing in the flower box. He stopped hanging out in the box after we started putting food in there. He still jumped in to eat it but simply stopped hanging out in there. Now we use a food box on the floor, but he’s out of the habit. We still have hope he’ll find a mate some day and build a nest in there.
Snoozing in the living room. Note the small food box in the flower box. We tried that for a while, thinking if the food tayed contained that Henry would maybe lounge in the box again, but Henry and the other pigeons always ended up knocking it over, so we finally started putting it on the balcony floor.
Henry, the Pretty One and the Girl. Not that mother and daughter are eating. I believe Henry may be dancing here, not sure.
The Pretty One. (Henry’s off to the side.) This is shot through the screen door, so it’s hard to tell her colors, but there are a lot of greens and purples.
Mother and daughter. And again.
Henry eating. And eating. They tend to spill a bunch out, too.
And some good ones of Henry and the Chinese-Thai temple we have a good view of. Henry takes flight. He was on the top rail and started getting nervous about what I was doing with the camera; took off just as I snapped this photo. Then he returned to admire the temple here and here. And a couple of days later, he agreed to pose for me.
And of course, you can see all of Henry’s photos on one page here.
And so that’s the pidgee update. Again, Henry has not found a regular mate. He’s obviously not spending time sitting on eggs elsewhere during the day, since he spends so much time here. He keeps chasing the girls, who don’t want to be intimate with him. And the other pretty white one, the Lady, has never come back, but we have noticed a couple of white pigeons on the mansion grounds next door, and Henry even sometimes joins them to hunt for worms and such; we still think she’s his sister.
Of course, that shoud read: Note that they’re eating.
We’ve moved that large food dish into the flower box. No one’s building any nests there now anyway, and everyone keeps dumping the food out onto the balcony floor. This food box is larger than the last one we used, more rectangular and fits nicely between the walls of the flower box, and they can’t dump it over inside the flower box. The only drawback now that we can see is only one can eat at a time, unless another one peches on the rim and bends way down, which one or two have been doing. In fact, sometimes they do this anyway, perch on the rim instead of eating from inside the flower box. We’ll try this for a while to see how it works, but it seems to be helping make less of a mess out there so far.