Saved baby....need tips on release

[Reti]

I guess she is quite ready. Is she flying well and fast? Is she quick in taking off? She might be ready to join her friends.

Reti

[Lady Tarheel]

Jaye, looks to me like she is ready to spread her wings any day. I would release her when there is no rain in the forecast at least for a couple of days and the temps are pretty stable. It will be so nice that you will probably see her from time to time.

[Charis]

I would wait until you know the outside temperature won't drop below freezing at night.

[nikku-chan]

Phil, who used to post on here, and is very knowledgeable about releases, says to wait until the 45-50 day mark. They need as much flying practice as they can get to strengthen their wings and improve their general navigation of obstacles, and turning and things like that.

Just because she can fly may not mean she can fly well enough (yet) to escape predators to the standard that the wild pigeons can, so if i was you, i'd wait until then

Then you'll know for sure.

[Jaye]

Well, my plan is for tomorrow morning (Wed.) I work out of the house and I have only one appointment, so I will be around almost all day. Weather is good (for SF, that is). No rain in forecast...and as I said, she's itchin' to bust outta her box/cage.

I am more than a little sad though, y'know ? She's a great lil' pidgie. Also apprehensive....we do live near a park w/ hawks.....and I am very concerned....

Her adoptive "flock" (subflock, looks like) is very well acquainted w/ her now...it includes a bonded pair, a veteran adult (Yelloweyes), an older adolescent who has taken a particular shine to her (he's the cage-sitter !), and a couple other adults and adolescents. They all look quite healthy and strong....so, I guess she will be in good company.....

Any last-minute words of wisdom ?????

[little bird]

If you could set the cage where you plan to release & have a string attached to the door so you can open it from a distance...then wait for her ''flock'' to come to eat the food you have scattered around the cage....especially wait for her special friend to come.....it might be of the opposite sex and might take her home with him/her and she will have shelter from the get-go and a teacher to show her the ''ropes''. Good luck.

[TAWhatley]

Good luck, Jaye! I hope the release is a great success. Please do let us know how it goes. Many thanks to you for assisting this pigeon!

Terry

[Jaye]

Hi all. Well....Today was the day ! There had been forecasted showers for yesterday (which never materialized)...and good weather predicted through the weekend. So...with more than a bit of hesitation....the lil' squeaker was set free today. She certainly is between 44-49 days old, for sure.

I spent some extra time w/ her this morning, giving her breakfast...holding her again, and giving her a kiss. Then, as we have been doing for weeks now, I put her/his box/cage on the front porch along w/ some scattered seed. A couple of members of her "7th Avenue Flock" soon began to arrive, off an on, and they all had some breakfast together. Then they scattered....they were away for a bit. I wanted at least two or three other pigeons there when I released, and was wondering if it would happen today. Lo and behold, at around 11 AM, several arrived on the porch. I realized that now was the time....so, I scattered some seed, they came up and started eating...and with a lump in my throat and some tears in my eyes as well....I told her I loved her, and to listen to the adults.... and lifted off the top of the cage.



She jumped onto the edge, then onto the porch, then started flap-walking. She didn't wait around too long....she lifted off and started flying in an irregular circle about one storey off the ground, then alighted on a window ledge. This made a few of the others scatter and take off as well. She tried to follow suit, but couldn't ascend as quickly as the others, so she did some exploratory flying up and down the block, just a bit...landing on a few roofs, then on a wire right above the sidewalk in front of my building.




I stayed outside, sitting ont the steps, and just watched and talked to her. The flocks of the neighborhood were doing some nice ballets up above....she seemed to be taking it in and was also very excited...probably a bit overwhelmed ...("wait...you mean...I'm FREE now ????"). She/he was up, flying, a bit awkward and such, but getting on.....

After a few minutes, I went inside for a minute and when I came back, I saw her take off from the wire and over the roofs.

A few minutes later I walked up ad down the street...there were groups of pigeons on a number of roofs...and a pair of pigeons on one of the roofs....and (with the help of my field monocular) I confirmed it was her on my nieighbor's roof five doors down. A short time later, she was joined by an adult. They hung out together for a while...

[TAWhatley]

It sounds like the release went very well. It is always a bittersweet moment when you let them go .. part of you wants them to be free and live their lives out on their own and with their own kind and part of you wants to always keep them safe with you. I hope you will continue to see your little one from time to time.

Good job and god bless!

Terry

[Jaye]

I could not help but think...can you imagine, the thrill of flying in the sky ? What must it have seemed like to her ? It's no mystery why we humans have such feelings for birds, is it ? I was kinda overwhelmed by it all...I called my girlfriend and told her what was going on. It was really very emotional (I still AM very emotional).

Then about 20 minutes later, I had to go around the corner to do some errands. When I came back, she and her pals came down a few minutes later to the front of my house....so I fed them a bit...



He/she had been out about an hour by then...I imagined she was taking some practice flights and resting in between. Something startled them (me, maybe....perhaps I was insisting on feeding them a bit too much) and they took off. Again, she took off quickly with them (a GOOD sign...as I have noticed some young ones hesitate in taking off in these instances). Some went to nearby roofs, but I lost sight of her.

A few minutes later, she/he was on my porch again....so I took my lunch outside and ate on the porch, while feeding my friends on the sidewalk. They were startled when another pigeon came down around the corner of the building quickly. They dispersed to the roofs of my building and my neighbors...came down again a few minutes later.



Almost done w/ lunch, about 10 minutes, something startled them again and they lifted off. Pigie joined them...and this time she looked much more coordinated and a bit quicker.

I took some walks up and down the street the rest of the day...and I am pretty sure I saw her a few more times...usually in the vicinity of some others.

So, it is night now...the weather is pretty mild, and a bit humid as the fog has rolled in and out. Thankfully, not as bitter as some nights have been thus far this year. Around 40 F at night.....

So, I am hoping and praying for her, hoping she found a nice spot to sleep with a friend nearby....and hoping to see her again sometime soon....

[Jaye]

Thanks, TA. And everyone for all of the support and ideas and all....

Yes, I read over that thread here on "when to release"...and really, lil' Pigie fits the description well. There was a time while handfeeding where I thought she/he might be bonding to me....but it never ended up happening. She really kept on as a wild bird...shy of the hand, trying to evade being handled. Had this not been so, it would have made my decision more difficult. But she wanted to go back to being a feral.

But you are right, as I expected when the time came....it's an inner struggle between wanting to protect at all costs, and wanting to give her back the life she was born into.....

So, y'all know how this feels.....

[little bird]

Job well done, Jaye. This isn't the end.....once a rescue, there will always be more to find you and you will do well by them as you have for this pijie.

[Charis]

That's so great. I hope he/she has a long life. I hope you stick around too.

[Jaye]

This is a great place....and I have been a pigeon friend for a decade now, so definitely this forum has a top bookmark !

I saw her this morning...I was looking for her in the flock, which came to feed at about 8...but she wasn't there...I took my daughter to school and came back home....and I spotted her on a roof. That was wonderful ! A few minutes later, she came down....she was hanging out w/ an adult...an adult which looked very much like one of her parents whom she hadn't seen for a month (although I may be guilty of a bit of anthropomorphizing here). She looked happy...she was preening herself and eating and following the adult shoulder-to-shoulder at times. They had breakfast w/ me outside...they would come and go. Then a few minutes ago I saw her flying over the backyards and to an opposite roof...then a few minutes later, she left....

Great scene around here this morning....lotsa flocks of sailing pigeons, hi and lo....and a lotta Ravens around as well....

[Trees Gray]

I'm so glad everything went well. I know this is a bitter sweet moment and you may feel your heart pitter-patter when you see her.

You did a wonderful job with her, and I appreciate the wonderful pictures and details of her release. Thank you again for caring and helping one of our noble ferals.

I ask God to watch over and protect her during this time of newly acquired freedom in the outdoors.