Do you have access to the garden or courtyard area below your apartment where you could leave out water or seeds they might be able to find?
We have access, but leaving that out downstairs wouldn’t be practical. Wouldn’t want anyone to see us doing that, and a water dish probably wouldn’t be left there long anyway. Plus there’s a cat that lives down there, so we’d hate to be lining up snacks for her.
It’s not too difficult for them to find water in the neighborhood. The mansion next door has at least one fountain and pond. We also see them drinking from the ninth-floor open-air swimming pool, although the chlorine can’t be good for them.
Another thing about Henry is that out of all the pigeons we’ve seen these past few years – and I mean all the pigeons – Henry is the only one who grunts. He does it under stress. If he’s out there and we open the door, even to give him food, he’ll trot away quickly while making these fairly loud grunting noises. GRUNT! GRUNT GRUNT! One more characteristic that makes him unique.
The painters started work on our balcony side of the building yesterday (Thursday). They’re high up working their way down, but the ropes of the scaffolding are hanging all the way down. The rope movements are actually working to scare some of the pidgees away. We’ve removed the water dish and stopped all feedings for now. If we’re here between 5pm (the painters’ quitting time) and dark (a little after 6pm now), then we’ll put the water out for latecomers. The painters are off on Sundays and holidays, so we’ll try to pay extra attention to the pidgees then. This next Monday just happens to be a holiday here, the Buddhist holiday of Makha Bucha Day, so we’ll have two days with them. The work on this side is scheduled to take a month, and that’s the only holiday during that time. They seem to be doing fast work though, so maybe it won’t take a full month.
The painting is proceeding. A couple more weeks to go. Henry is NOT happy about not being fed in the daytime. But we think he’s learning what “No” means, and he seems to know to check back after 5pm. Really. Not that he has a watch or anything, but maybe the sun getting down a certain way or maybe just the absence of the painters’ ropes clues him in. He and Geri are being really sweet to each other now too, they’re back in a romantic cycle, and Geri was giving Henry a little head massage with her beak out there today. So sweet!
Awwwww. I love the pidgee updates. Glad they’re managing through the renovations.
I was worried that all the painting would drive the birds away. Glad to hear they are sticking around.
Yes, they’re still around. The wife was home after 5pm today and fed Henry and Geri. She said Henry finished first and seemed to want to leave, but Geri was still eating. So Henry was sitting up on a lower rail acting like any bored human male waiting for his woman – fidgeting, looking around. She said he seemed to stare at the wall for a while, and she wondered if he could tell something was different about it. (It’s been painted already, although the same color.)
Well, the painting is over. The painters have moved to the fourth and final side of this building. (Then they have three more buildings to go.) They need to come around and do some final touch-ups on the balcony, but for all intents it’s over.
Henry still comes around. In fact, he seems to have gotten just a little green paint splashed onto his tail and the very tip of at least one wing. I’ll have to try to take a picture of that. Again, he has not been happy with the reduced feedings, but he still gets some. Haven’t seen Geri for a few days, maybe not for a week, but we think she may be on the nest again. Henry will often fly off in the direction of his nest after eating and come back for more. We think he may be feeding her.
One of his squabs followed him here one day last week. It was squealing and flapping its wings at Henry, asking Daddy for a feeding. Henry tried to ignore it.
For the last couple of nights, a small Sammy has stayed out on the balcony. We think it’s fresh out of the nest and one that Henry keeps chasing away, making it squeal. The squealing indicates it’s still a baby. It’s stayed out on the green concrete apron just outside the bar, over by the wall.
It’s about 5am now, and I see that during the night, she moved to perch on the edge of the flower box. I say “she” because it’s so small and looks feminine, but we’ve been fooled before. We think she may have been kicked out of the nest and have nowhere to go. She does not seem to be sick.
We call this type a Sammy after the original squab that we happened to name Sammy. Gray with a pattern. I’d show you an example, but the photo website’s not coming up now for some reason.
The painters will be around on Tuesday to finish up on the balcony what needs finishing, then we can put everything back the way it was. Right now the box and tree pots are scooted around haphazardly. But otherwise, they’ve moved on to another side of the building, and we’ve put water back out in the day for the pidgees. Good thing too, because it is HOT now, topping 100 F every day.
Poor Henry. We’ll be away for a couple of weeks in April. Just when he gets used to the regular routine again, we’ll be gone.
Saturday night and the little one didn’t stay here for a third night. But she almost did. She hung around most of the day and returned toward nightfall but then seemed to be frightened by something. Flew off and didn’t come back. It is the young one that Henry keeps chasing. He was here chasing her today, and she was squealing.
So the chasing is not a sex thing, it’s just literally driving the young one from the nest?
I’d hate to think Henry was a pidgee slut.
No, the chasing can be a sex thing, or it can be an anger issue. For example, when pidgees get too close to Henry while he’s eating, attempting to snatch some of the food for themselves, Henry will charge them like a raging bull. Sometimes such as with this new Sammy it takes on comical Keystone Kops proportions, with them running in circles around the balcony.
I’m happy for Geri that Henry isn’t “foolin’ around”…yet.
I’m a little worried about Geri. We haven’t seen her for more than a week. But we’ve kept the curtains closed what with the painters out on the building and everything, so we’re hoping she’s just “on the nest” now.
Oh no! Keep us posted!
We’re fearing the worst for Geri. It’s been maybe two weeks since we saw her last. Post-painting, every regular has showed back up except her. Henry comes around all hours of the day, so he doesn’t seem to be taking shifts on the nest with her. Poor Geri. 
They’ve been together almost two years now, I think. She seemed perfectly healthy the last time we saw her. Maybe a cat ate her or a human grabbed her. Remember Tony No Toes, who still stops by occasionally and still has string wrapped around his legs.
We’re seeing a sad one now, one that obviously belongs to the Bully and Ladyboy, as it keeps following them. An otherwise-pretty white one whose beak area is covered with tumors a la the Little Tumor Guy last year (I think) who we’re pretty sure must have died.
Still no Geri. We’ll be here only about another week, then in Japan for a couple of weeks. If Henry’s without a mate now and then there’s no food from us, we’re afraid he may leave. Hope not. But assuming he started coming here after “leaving the nest,” this is the only area he’s known, so maybe he can stick it out. We won’t be gone all that long.
Wednesday morning here, and the good news is that Geri has finally reappeared. I think it’s been about three weeks since we last saw her, but admittedly we’ve been away more. Maybe they’re on the nest again after all, and her timing’s just been bad lately.
Haven’t seen Henry since Monday evening though.
I’ll be thinking of Henry! Hope he’s OK. I’m also glad Geri is back. If something happens to a mate, do pidgees bond again?
And Henry has shown up again. So all seems well. Hope that really was Geri. She came around twice yesterday. We have one we call Fake Geri, because he looks an awful lot like her. (Geri is big for a girl, and we originally thought she was a male.) We think it’s their son. But no, I’m pretty sure that was Geri. We’ll see if she comes back.
Yes, Henry would probably find another mate. Geri is his fourth one, I think. Most of the others started showing showing signs of illness suddenly, then disappeared. One I think just vanished. But Geri’s the longest lasting, maybe close to two years now.