We Have Pigeon Eggs

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
741

I was just struck by a thought – didn’t you use to NOT feed the pigeons on your balcony? I mean, the whole time while Big and Little Pidgie raised all those sets of offspring?

And since then you’ve been putting out food for various sets, but none of them have built a nest?

Could it be that pigeons WON’T nest in their feeding areas? Like, maybe they instinctively think it’s too dangerous, the food may attract too many rivals or even predators that could be dangerous to the eggs/hatchlings?

It’s just a stray thought, but it might explain why there have been no more eggs: your balcony changed from a bedroom to a dining room!

742

That’s possible, I guess. The reason we started feeding was we were trying to persuade Little Pidgee to stay and take care of poor little Bob when it looked like she might abandon him in favor of a new boyfriend. (sniff Almost a year now since Bob died, poor litttle guy.) Then Henry showed up, and we just sort of got in the habit of feeding him. Now we’re his regular meal spot. I swear he looks like he’s trying to figure out how to open the sliding door, but he simply won’t tolerate being touched.

I’ll put that to the Pigeon Boards and see what they say.

743

Well, I’m told on one of the Pigeon Boards that it’s common for feral pigeons to nest out on the balcony and be fed there.

Henry did try to stay here one night but seemed rather put out that we did not go to bed at sunset. The lights and activity inside made him clearly anxious. Whereas Big and Little Pidgee thought at the time that they were getting an abandoned unit, then possibly just stayed out of inertia.

I think I heard it’s the male who chooses where to nest? Since Big stayed elsewhere at night, maybe he wasn’t too worried if Little Pidgee was disturbed at night, but he did take to staying here some nights himself. I think we may have failed the test with Henry though, but he does enjoy our cuisine.

744

Aw, well. Just a half-baked theory. :wink:

745

Never say “baked” around a pidgee! :eek:

Here are the promised new photos:

Thursday, May 20
Lazy Susie. Yes, she’s eating while lying down. That’s Dad on the right, of course.
Sunday, May 23
Susie and Henry enjoy separate servings. Henry often chases Susie away if she gets too close while eating, so we sometimes try to give separate portions. Susie’s head is a blur because she’s pecking away quickly.

This one is good, as it shows the little Eurasian tree sparrow that stops by several times a day. The pidgees always ignore it, and it must think it’s one lucky bird to have found this treasure trove of food. Nervous little guy, always hopping around. I think the wife took this shot.
Wednesday, June 23
Jumping ahead a full month, we see daughter and Dad still eating. Whether Henry’s here or not, Susie will wait for me most mornings over on the window frames, flying over as soon as I poke my head out the door. She’s usually with a gray pidgee that I thought must be her sibling, but the wife has convinced me it looks too old to be her sibling. Just friends, I guess.
Saturday, June 26
Henry up on the little metal ledge that the sliding glass door runs along. That’s Maggie on the right. Henry jumps up there every time now he wants fed now, having learned this is a good way to get our attention. Smart little man! And you can’t help but notice him, as his claws make a scratching sound on the metal, and whereas he does not tap on the glass on purpose – at least, I don’t think he does – when he turns his head, his beak inadvertently taps.
Sunday, June 27
A better view of Henry on the ledge. He’s not shy about us coming up to the window, and again, he has learned this is how to order breakfast. Or lunch. Or his mid-day snack or dinner.

“Please, sir, may I have some more”?

And a right profile. There is just enough room for him to turn, causing his beak to tap on the glass.
And again, you can see all of Henry’s photos over the past 10 months on one page here.

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It’s amazing how good our animals are at training us, isn’t it? :cool:

747

The new one is starting to show up regularly now. Not the one we named Karen; haven’t seen her for two or three days. It’s the other one I mentioned, still sporting the very last vestiges of baby fuzz. Yesterday (Sunday) she (seems feminine, thus “she”) did what we’ve seen other young pidgees do when eating near their parents: Squealed like a squab while pecking at the food. Even though they are not asking for a feeding, it’s like a habit that they squeal while eating, at least near the parents. Susie did the same thing. This new one followed Dad here again this morning and has been hanging around. I haven’t heard any squealing today.

I have managed to take a few shots of this one and will post them soon. Don’t know if the baby fuzz will show, it’s so slight now.

748

Word is spreading yet again, and we’re starting to have another problem with too many pidgees coming around. A lot of new grays out there. But with Henry’s active assistance, we’ve developed a workable system.

As you saw in the last batch of photos, Henry now knows to ask for food by hopping up onto that little metal ledge the sliding glass door runs along and staring inside at us. So when I see Henry first thing in the morning, I’ll pour out a pile of birdseed for him. If he wants more, he’ll hop up and ask. Really! If any of his family are around, such as Junior or Susie, they can eat too. Many of the grays are monitoring us and will then show up, and Henry usually spends a lot of time chasing them away. If Henry does not want any more, he won’t jump up, and I don’t pour any more out. He’ll usually leave after eating a couple of piles, then we have to stop feeding the others, even Junior and Susie, at least for now.

(Junior is becoming like the lazy son who lounges around all day and won’t go out and look for a job. He knows all he has to do is wait long enough, and we’ll pour him some food, so he just hangs around all day long.)

I’m usually out and about in the afternoons, but when the wife comes home, Henry is out there waiting for her more often than not. As soon as he becomes aware of someone inside, he’ll start cooing, then jump up onto the ledge. It’s become obvious he’s cooing for food and not for his mate. He’ll be facing the glass, staring intently and cooing away, then he’ll jump up. (It’s too awkward for him to coo while on the ledge.)

This system of feeding Henry only when he asks (except his first serving of the morning) actually seems to be working. I find it amazing that a wild animal has learned how to place an order of food with us, but that’s exactly what Henry’s doing. Again, here he is up in the window asking for food. And here. Both of these are repeats from above.

Meanwhile, Karen has not come back after her first couple of appearances more than a week ago. The new one seems to like it around here though, but we’ve not named her yet, in case she disappears; still squeals like a baby when eating. Susie and especially Junior are becoming fixtures. We wonder where they all sleep at night. And Maggie only stops by once in a while now; we figure she’s busy with new eggs somewhere.

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Everything’s settled into a regular pattern. Henry will sit and coo at us if he wants fed, and if we’re not fast enough with the goodies, then he’ll jump up into the window. Sometimes he’ll bypass the cooing stage altogether and just jump up into the window right away. we always feed him then even if there are other pidgees around, because he’s formally asking. But he often gets into fights with the others, and we’d prefer to put out food when it’s only him around. Maggie disappears from time to time but always shows back up, so we’re not too worried; must be busy with eggs during her absences. She’s around regularly now. Junior keeps staring at the spot where Dad jumps up, as if he’s trying to figure out what exactly Dad does there to get us to bring out food; a little dense, he can’t quite understand the jumping-up bit.

Some days when I’m out and about, the wife will return home late in the afternoon to find Henry already standing staring into our place. Not up on the rail, but on the balcony and close to the window, staring inside expectantly. We hope on the days we’re not home until after dark that he finally gives up and goes to look for food on his own. And the rains have returned with a vengeance; we’ve had several tropical downpours lately pushing the bugs up out of the ground. Have seen other pidgees hunting around on the mansion grounds next door.

I’ll be in Laos for a few days this week or next. The wife may or may not go with me. Her availability depends on exactly when I go. It won’t be a long absence like Vietnam in April, will be just a couple of days, but there go poor Henry’s meals again.

Meanwhile, this morning (Sunday morning), a frail black-footed one showed up. We’re wondering if it’s old, as it’s turning white on the face. Do pidgees start turning whilte like humans do with their hair? That’s the impression this one gives anyway. Seems exhausted and tired. Just wants to rest. We’re wondering if it’s the former Blackfoot returned; he disappeared ages ago. This one keeps hiding behind the tree pots to keep from being hassled by Henry and the others, who all want to chase it away.

750

You should pitch a show to Animal Planet. To be produced, directed and filmed by you - keeping the bucks close to home.

751

Looks like the wife and I will both be heading into Laos on Wednesday. Just for a few days. We’re hoping our time away this week will thin out some of the crowd again, it’s just becoming too much. We put a little down for Henry at his request, it looks like no one else is around, then Wump! Nine or 10 appear out of nowhere. If that wasn’t noticeable enough, Henry then starts brawling with them all. It’s becoming too high profile again. But we figure Henry and his family will still be around this weekend; they were still here after three weeks in April. And the rains are so heavy now that lots of bugs are being pushed up in the ground; we’ve seen groups of pidgees over on the mansion grounds feasting away.

That “old” one left, but then it showed up again today briefly. The other pigeons, including Henry, all attack it. Seems to want to belong to a group. Left again after a while. :frowning:

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So we’re back. Henry and Junior both showed up in the afternoon today (Saturday), and we gave them a good feed. Before that, though, several of the grays we were hoping would disappear stopped by. :frowning:

We heard there was a hellacious storm in Bangkok on Thursday night and wondered how they weathered that, but all seems well. Except we did not see Maggie or Susie today.

753

Glad to see you back, and that the saga will continue.

I really hope someone nests on your balcony again. We may not show it enough, but this thread is something many look forward to.

754

Thanks! So many people keep their birds in cages that we find it funny we manage to keep a couple of roamers close by just by becoming friends with them. We probably couldn’t get rid of Henry if we tried.

On the way back home, we passed through the Thai city of Udon Thani, way up in the Northeast. It’s customary in Thai cities and towns to have many of the same types of shops grouped together in one area, and we walked down a street in what turned out to be a pet-shop area. One had this beautiful cockatiel (I think) just sitting on the floor right in the doorway entrance. Just sitting there watching the world go by, not chained or anything. Obviously trained and the shop’s personal pet. Would not budge from that spot, except for a couple of inches to inspect a passing insect.

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And Maggie has reappeared this morning (Sunday morning) with Henry. :smiley: So all is well. No Susie, but she often disappears for days with her “friend.”

756

And ow Susie. The gang’s all here. :smiley:

757

“now”?

758

Yes, “now.” I uzualy spell purty good.

759

Not much new going on. We’ve settled into a routine of Henry asking for food, and we give it. But we try to feed him only when he’s alone, or almost so. Too many other pidgees hanging around hoping for a handout, and Henry gets tired of fighting them all.

We’ve had a couple of hellacious storms in the past few days – this is the rainy season – and we’ve not seen Maggie since before the last one a couple of days ago. Hope she’s okay! Her regular disappearance usually, we think, signals her need to pay extra attention to the nest, wherever that is. And yesterday morning we discovered a piece of egshell out on the balcony. Blown here by the storm? Or carried here stuck to a pidgee’s foot? Hope whoever was inside the egg hatched normally and did not have the egg broken by the storm. Maybe a new little squab or two will show up in the next month? Junior and Susie from previous batches still hanging around; we do slip them some food, too, if no one’s around.

760

Still loving this thread!