Greetings! Pigeon Family Photos from Our Balcony

[mr squeaks]

I, too, have enjoyed all the growth updates and adventures of George (or Georgia?)!! Looks like he(?) will be a beautiful Blue Bar.

You have a really lovely balcony, Siam Sam!

That was a great mating shot. Since their mating only takes a very short time, you were fortunate to get it!

Will look forward to more posts.

Love, Hugs and Scritches

Shi and her gang: Mr. Squeaks/Dom/Gimie/WoeBeGone

[Maggie-NC]

Just caught your thread and have enjoyed your chronicles of life with feral pigeons. I'm sorry the members of the forum you linked feel the way they do about pigeons but, sadly, many people do until they know one up close and personal. The pictures have been delightful.

[Siam Sam]

Thanks all!

There are no predators around -- well, I've seen one cat in the neighborhood on occasion -- and the food source stays about the same year-round. We're tropical, and while our three seasons are hot, rainy and "cool" (when it actually drops down into the 80s Fahrenheit. Brrr!), they say the seasons are really hot, hotter and hottest, so there's growth all year long. Once or twice we'd thought the parents had left, but they've always come back usually within a week, two at the most. Our neighborhood -- and balcony -- seem to be an almost-perfect environment for pigeons. Out on the polluted main streets of the concrete jungle, life must be rogh for the ones we see. But our neighborhood is very nice, with lots of green areas to hunt for food, and water from us. Big Pidgee has proved very territorial, though, chasing away any other pigeon who dares invade the balcony, even Katie when she came back and tried to move in! He doesn't even like it when they land on the window frames nearby

I did have a couple of other mating shots in my other photo folders. Here and here, last December. Always in that same spot.

And no sooner had I written that the parents were not spending much time here anymore than Big Pidgee came by yesterday and tried to entice George out of the box. Then he spent the night on the rail last night. Now he's back again. I guess his parenting instinct kicked in. He's done this before with the previous squabs. Will stand a little ways away and coo at the squabs. They'll squeal and flap their wings to be fed, but he is clearly trying to persuade them to come out. George is 22 days old today (Monday), and he's been stretching his head over the box to look out at the balcony floor.

[Siam Sam]

Thursday morning, and George is 25 days old. Stands a lot and walks inside the flower box but has not jumped out on his own accord. It's usually about this time, I think. His yellow squab fuzz is just about completely gone, and he has a very sweet face; makes me think maybe this is Gracie after all and not George!

Does not like to be touched, but he's super soft now, so I cannot help myself. Funny how in their first few days, they seem to think you're something that's come to feed them, then their instincts kick in.

Big Pidgee chooses to stay here every night now and during the day will often try to entice George out of the box. Fascinating to watch. Little Pidgee's not been seen for a week now. She may have come around when we weren't looking, but this has become a familiar pattern.

[kingsley hannah]

loving this thread do you notice the other birds (older siblings) still in the area? is the local flock increasing? very curious to know if your babies are going on to be parents and if you see much of them aroun do they visit mom and dad?

[Siam Sam]

Originally Posted by kingsley hannah

loving this thread do you notice the other birds (older siblings) still in the area? is the local flock increasing? very curious to know if your babies are going on to be parents and if you see much of them aroun do they visit mom and dad?

We've not seen any of the other squabs for a while now. A few used to stop by.

Interestingly, Katie from one batch seems to have hooked up with Sammy from another batch. Would they even know they're siblings?

But we do think sometimes we can recognize some of the pigeons hunting around for food in the mansion grounds next door. The distance is a bit far, so we're not always sure, but those grounds are where they probably end up. There and maybe around the Chinese-Thai temple directly across from us, as it has a lot of trees, too.

We think, though, that Katie may actually be male and Sammy female, because they wanted to move into the flower box, and Big Pidgee and Katie had a big pigeon fight out on the balcony while Sammy only looked on. Big Pidgee is very territorial and does not want to share this place. There were a couple of fights, and we ended up having to intervene and chase Katie away. I mean, they were really fighting -- knocking over the water, spraying up the dirt (and other matter) in the flower box. Big Pidgee clearly believes in "tough love" and kicking the young 'uns out when it comes time. That was awhile ago. They must have given up and found another place.

[Siam Sam]

Saturday morning, and George is 27 days old. Yesterday, at age 26 days, he hopped out and went walkabout! Just a little. Checked out the area near the flower box and hopped back in. While I was away later, the wife said he hopped out to run after Big Pidgee when he arrived. One thing about not having a sibling, George has no competition for being fed, and father is not swamped as forcefully as he is with two squabs.

The wife said Little Pidgee stopped by for water, the first sighting of her in 8 days. George just stared at her from the box. It's Big Pidgee he gets excited for. Dad's been the favorite with every batch.

Big Pidgee stayed elsewhere last night. We're wondering if that's because he's seen George get out of the box now. He seemed to be hanging around mostly to coax him out of the box. Maybe that was his motivation for staying here, too.

More photos soon.

[Siam Sam]

New Photos!

Wednesday, May 27
George is 17 days old. Still a lot of yellow baby fuzz here. And catching a snooze.

Thursday, May 28
Looking right atcha at age 18 days.

Friday, May 29
19 days old. The baby fuzz is getting thinner here, and George is looking like a real little pigeon. Here is his other side.

Saturday, May 30
George is 20 days old now and is outgrowing my hand. We were cleaning the balcony a little, and here he is taking another nap after his big adventure. (He loves to sleep. )

Sunday, May 31
And George is a full 3 weeks old here. His baby fuzz is fast disappearing.

Monday, June 1
22 days old now. This one is early in the morning. And a right profile. And a side shot.

Tuesday, June 2
George is 23 days old, and here you can see his baby fuzz is just about gone. And a back view; notice the different shades as you get toward the tail.

Wednesday, June 3
Age 24 days.

Thursday, June 4
25 days, and here he is showing off his standing skills. His baby fuzz is gone now except for maybe the odd strand or two, and he looks like a pigeon. But whenever Dad comes around, you can see how small he really still is. And snoozing again.

Friday, June 5
26 days old, and speaking of dad, he and George are doing some synchronized lounging here. And a top view shows what a pretty little bird George is becoming. This is the day he hopped out of the box on his own, but I did not get a shot of that momentous occasion.

Saturday, June 6
27 days old, and here George is outside the flower box. He's re-creating the Normandy landing in honor of D-Day.

And again, you can see these and all of George's other photos on this page. Click on any one to enlarge it.

Yesterday (Sunday), we did a big balcony cleaning, and George flew over to the window frames. He seemed impressed with his newfound power and spent much of the rest of the afternoon flying back and forth between our balcony and our dining-area window. Big Pidgee showed up, and George followed him over to the window frame. Dad gave George a nice little head-and-neck massage; it really looked like he was rewarding George, giving him some positive reinforcement. Photos of all of this will bein the next round.

George has still not discovered the water yet, though. He walks past it, and once or twice while doing "helicopters," his wing dipped into it briefly.

Big Pidgee hangs around a lot more again. Out there now and has only missed I think one night in the past week sleeping here. He's taking an active interest in George. Little Pidgee, on the other hand, we rarely see now.

[Siam Sam]

Thursday morning, and George is 32 days old. Last night, at age 31 days -- a full month -- he slept away from home for the first time. He and Big Pidgee both.

But they were both around this morning. And George has discovered water. The wife saw him drinking a couple of days ago. This morning when I got up, the water bowl was half empty, and water was splashed around everywhere. George and Dad were over on the window frames, and George's feathers were all kerfuffled. I think he'd just had a bath. The wife saw the aftermath of a bath yesterday, too, but not the actual event.

This seems a tad early for George to leave. Perhaps it has to do with no sibling to anchor him here a bit longer? And Big Pidgee seems to be taking more of an interest in George than in most of the squabs. He's always acted like a good father, but he seems to be going the extra mile with George.

[mr squeaks]

[quote=Siam Sam;391813]Thursday morning, and George is 32 days old. Last night, at age 31 days -- a full month -- he slept away from home for the first time. He and Big Pidgee both.

But they were both around this morning. And George has discovered water. The wife saw him drinking a couple of days ago. This morning when I got up, the water bowl was half empty, and water was splashed around everywhere. George and Dad were over on the window frames, and George's feathers were all kerfuffled. I think he'd just had a bath. The wife saw the aftermath of a bath yesterday, too, but not the actual event.

This seems a tad early for George to leave. Perhaps it has to do with no sibling to anchor him here a bit longer? And Big Pidgee seems to be taking more of an interest in George than in most of the squabs. He's always acted like a good father, but he seems to be going the extra mile with George.[/QUOTE]

UNLESS, George is a "GEORGIA???"

Love your updates! MANY THANKS!! George(?) is a lovely Blue Bar!

Love, Hugs and Scritches

Shi and Mr. Squeaks/Dom/Gimie/Woe

[Siam Sam]

Saturday morning here, George is 34 days old now, and he's been back here the last couple of nights. Just spent the one night away. Big Pidgee was back last night, too, and the two of them slept side by side on the lower rail near the flower box.

Dad really is taking a big, big interest in George. I've started to wonder ... since Little Pidgee has disappeared again (she was here briefly one time midweek) ... if maybe George IS Georgia, and ... Dad wants her for a girlfriend.

[Siam Sam]

Monday morning, and George is 36 days old. He spends more and more time away in the day, and we expect he'll be gone before long. He still sleeps here at night, though, fitting snugly beteween the concrete verge and bottom rail, the same as previous squabs.

Yesterday, at age 5 weeks, he returned in late evening. Then Big Pidgee showed up. Dad strode straight for the water dish, but George ambushed him and demanded to be fed. George simply would NOT let Dad get a drink of water. Kept chasing him all over the balcony squealing. But George himself stopped and took a drink a couple of times before resuming his harangue of Big Pidgee, who finally gave up and flew away. He stayed somewhere else last night.

Will post some final pictures in the near futurre. After George moves out for good, it will be time to change the flower box again. We did see Little Pidgee briefly again recently, and Big Pidgee really likes our place, so hopefully there will be more eggs.

We had a new visitor these past couple of days, too. A pigeon we'd not seen before. Its coloring was a little dark, pretty sure not yet an adult, although the feet were already pink. Stopped by a couple of times yesterday for water while Big Pidgee was away. When it saw the wife watching, it panicked. Ran back and forth like in cartoons, then flew away. If Big Pidgee catches it here, he'll move it along.

[Siam Sam]

Friday morning, and George is 40 days old. He doesn't hang around a lot anymore, but I did inadvertently scare him this morning when I opened the curtains to the balcony. Has not stayed here at night since Monday night, nor has Big Pidgee, but they do still stop by together.

Yesterday, the wife saw Big Pidgee hop inside the flower box and check it out, so maybe that's a good sign of more to come. We have a new flower box ready to switch with the old one but need more dirt.

[Siam Sam]

New photos!

Sunday, June 7
George is 4 weeks old today. Here he is trying to find a way down to the floor. Checking out the neighborhood while we clean the balcony.

The world is his oyster.

Balcony clean again and flower box replaced, George takes a snooze. And later in the dining-area window with Dad.


Tuesday, June 9
30 days old. Here George is in the tree area we refer to as the living room. The squabs always take to this spot once they grow wolder. That's the egg George came from under his butt. Snoozing again. And a close-up.


Wednesday, June 10

31 days old, a full month for him. Lounging in the living room. It's amazing that only 31 days before, he was inside that egg. (He hatched in the flower box, but I moved the egg there to preserve it for a while. George has since inadvertently kicked it out.) Sleeping yet again. And looking for a snack. And another nap.


Friday, June 12
33 days old.


Sunday, June 14
5 weeks old today. George contemplates his place in the world.


Saturday, June 20
41 days old.

And again, you can see all of George's photos on one page here. Just click on any one of them to enlarge.

And that may be it for George. He has definitely moved out. Big Pidgee's not been seen for a couple of days either, although the big piece of you-know-what in the water dish yesterday morning (Monday morning) probably came from him, as it looked to be too big for George. We'll keep putting fresh water out and also change the flower box soon and see what develops.

Yesterday we did have three other pigeons stop by to check the place out. One looked like Little Pidgee but had socky feet, leading us to believe it may have been Marty from the fourth batch. He'd be almost 6 months old now. Was with a dark-looking pigeon, and both still looked youngish. Then a white pigeon with black speckles -- looked like a Dalmatian -- stopped by. Big Pidgee was not around to chase them away, but they all left after a short while.

[Siam Sam]

Originally Posted by Siam Sam

Yesterday we did have three other pigeons stop by to check the place out. One looked like Little Pidgee but had socky feet, leading us to believe it may have been Marty from the fourth batch. He'd be almost 6 months old now.

I meant almost 7 months old, as he hatched last November 24. It's the wee hours of the morning of the 24th now, so he's 7 months exactly.

And today (or yesterday, since it's after midnight), he and the dark pigeon returned. I looked out and there they were, both inside the flower box. Marty had his head down and was doing the classic "come hither" wing twitch. The dark one was preening his head. Then they both noticed me looking, freaked out and jumped out of the box. Then flew away after a bit. I'm pretty sure it's Marty. And still no Big Pidgee to chase them away.

The wife and her sister changed the flower box in the late afternoon when I was away. While they were doing that, Big Pidgee did show up. They think he may have been trying to chase them away. I think he just wanted some water. Landed on the edge of the balcony but did not dare go for water so flew around a bit. Ended up going over and chasing away some pigeons way over on the window frames. The wife thinks Marty was one of them. Still not staying here at night, and no further sign of Little Pidgee.

But there's a new flower box out there now, with fresh dirt in it. We're hoping they'll take the hint and start building another nest. Will start another thread with photos if they do.