babies not wanting to leave my balcony

[jenniferp]

A few weeks ago I was watering my plants and discovered two eggs. They have sinced hatched and yesterday the "parents" coaxed the babies out of the nest with food. It was incredible, we actually got to see them leave the nest for the first time. I had no idea that there is such a strong family unit during this whole process. Both parents were there to show them where to fly so that it would be safe for them.Since then, the babies are back on our balcony,(no longer in the nest) and they are huddle together on the floor. The parents come back periodically to try to get them to leave the balcony but they won't. I haven't seen them feeding them either. I haven't put any food out up until this point because I read some of the other postings about how you can attarct too many other birds by doing that. Is there anything I can do to help these little ones? I could drop something through the window above the balcony down to them, but as far as water is concerned, they are right in front of the sliding glass door that we enter and exit are balcony through and without disturbing them there would be no way to put water out there.

[John_D]

Hi JenniferP,

I noticed that, in the days when pigeons were quite new to me and my first feral pair produced young, one parent took the newly fledged birds out flying once they could reach the railings, but it was a little while before they really left my balcony for any length of time. Even then, they came back to roost at night for a while.

Of course, I was feeding the locals, so they had good reason to stay close. I wonder now if I did them a disservice, since once they went their own way they might one day have to start finding their own food, and not be adept at doing so.

If these little ones have only just left the nest, they may not be quite ready to face the world. They normally fledge around 35 days from hatching, but do little practise flights in a space like a balcony priior to that, just to get the wings working well and discover how to lift off and move. If they have actually left and come back, then they are ready - or close to it.

The parents will not usually, from what I've seen, feed the fledged youngsters for long, though they may keep it up for a little while when the kids squeak for food. Assuming you don't observe them all the time, it may be that the male parent does come back and feed them at first.

It is a dilemma, since it would not be good to be dependent on food provided by you, but if they do not fly off for quite long periods pretty soon, they may need a little help. If you go onto the balcony, they may or may not take flight. If they do not, it may be that they are actually unwell in some way.

If you know that they are capable of flight, and wouldn't just fall off the balcony (if there is a gap), it may be worth taking a chance and at least putting out a dish of water of say, half inch or so depth. If they stay put, you could try a little seed or crumbled 'yesterdays' wholemeal bread.

They learn from the parent(s) where and how to forage when the (usually) male takes them round the area, but they have an inbuilt instinct for pecking at things, so they would hopefully pick up small items and eat if they are desperate for food.

Keep us updated on how they are doing - they are so vulnerable at that stage.

John

[MellissaG]

This happened to me. Aisha and Ali didnt leave the nest until well after 5-6 weeks..around then they started exploring past my balcony, but would still return for most of the day and overnight. Only recently ive only seen them return maybe only a couple times a week, for short periods. Their parents have new babies in their old nest now, (well, eggs), so maybe they figured its time to move on. Not sure how to give advice... I just figured mine were lazy and let them do their thing. I was worried they were not out looking for food as much as they should have but they eventually got the hint that mommy and daddy wouldnt do it for them any more.