**&%$!! pigeons sneaked another one by me!

[John_D]

Not so long back there was 'Sneaky', who hatched on my balcony from an egg laid during my absence and which was too far developed to change when I returned.

This time, I could swear my feral pair had two plastic eggs - so how the heck did they hatch another yellow fuzzball? Magic pigeons, I guess

Guess this one is 'Oopsie' - another mistake on my part. As you see, s/he is no bigger than the plastic egg alongside

John

[minimonkey]

Oh my goodness is she ever cute!!!!!!! Is there anything cuter than a newborn pigeon?

Why are you trying to prevent your ferals from reproducing? Just wondering.

[elvis_911]

LOL cute!

elvis

[Garye]

I cracked up laughing after reading about your new arrival. Pigeons, you just gotta love 'em.

[Reti]

They are smart little guys.
The baby is adorable. Good names, BTW.

Reti

[John_D]

Hi MM -

Pigeons are not popular round the apartments. I had one heck of a run in with a couple of residents and the management some years back about my previous feral pair, who raised a lot of little ones. I had no idea about plastic eggs then.

I don't want to draw too much attention to the pigeons who roost here, and especially this pair who live in a home-made 'cave' well out of sight. They have been here for a year now.

Apart from unwelcome attention, for them and for me, I don't figure that increasing the numbers too much is a good plan, given that in a cosy setup like this they could readily produce all year round. It just means more and more competition for food and shelter, for one thing, and I am so often not around that I could not look out for them all the time.

So, I'm attempting to be part of the solution instead of the problem.

John

[Poulette]

This is a wonderful mistake John! Could the parents know how to recognise the fake eggs and throw them apart?
Suz.

[Pete Jasinski]

That is the sweetest lil one! Keep us updated on her progress

[rena paloma]

wow, cute little cutie! i dont think there is anything cuter than a squab. my ferals had one, just one, and i hang out with them (from a distance, healthy distance) every day, daddy comes to get the seed i throw, and mommy was cleaning him. he even steps to the side of the nest to poo! anyhow, enough about mine. yours is fantastic.

[minimonkey]

Yes, that "backing off the nest to poo" instinct is ingrained -- pretty cool, eh?

[poco]

Your new baby is cute and beautiful! Wow
Thank you for posting the photo.
Poco

[zoo keeper]

I laughed when I read your post. These darn birds, they are so smart and you just gotta love them. They still the hearts of everyone.

[Birdmom4ever]

What an adorable little fluff-ball! I had my first "oops" this spring, too. I check every nest every day but somehow missed an egg right up to the day when I felt in the nest and there was one wooden egg and one chick! First time it's happened to me. They are sneaky, aren't they.

[John_D]

The little guy is 10 days now. I keep a dish of pigeon mix right at the back of the 'cave' for the parents, so they still get to eat when I'm away for the week or a weekend. I filled it tonight, and as I reached over baby, he reared up, clicked and attempted to destroy my hand with his little soft beak

In the pic, he is glaring at me (or the camera) with a "watch it, mister, or you'll get some more of that" look

John

[Garye]

That's about the cutest picture of a squab I've seen. Usually they're ugly to me. Good picture.