How to encourage "Baby" to come out

[abbysian]

Hi: I have a baby pigeon that was born on my 19th floor terrace exactly 4 weeks ago. As I mentioned in another post, I leave wild bird seed and water on the terrace once a day, to make certain his parents continue to come and feed him. He picks at the feed somewhat, I don't know if he is actually swallowing any of it. Here is my concern. His parents come less and less frequently, they used to hang around for hours, leave for a bit and then come back for a few more hours. Now they show up in the early morning-I hope to feed the baby, then they leave and come back about 3-4hours later and play kissie face with each other. The baby starts squealing and runs to them flapping his wings-no lift off yet-and they fly up to the top of the ledge where baby cannot reach them. Sholudn't the baby be flying now? Am I providing too much of a security for the baby, that he doesn't want to venture out? I have a fortress set up to protect him, becaues two weeks ago, his sibling was spotted by a red tail hawk and taken off of my terrace...When the baby's parents are around, he does come out, walks for a bit and flaps his wings, then as soon as the parents fly off, or baby hears a noise, he runs back behind his little fortress and stays there. Should I slowly start removing the chairs and tables that are covering him, to force him to come out more and start to fly, or should I just leave things as they are.

[philodice]

Leave things alone, he'll come around. Try putting a little seed on your balcony for the baby to peck at.

[maryjane]

Sounds normal to me. The parents are very busy building their new nest and courting. The baby will learn to fly in his own time. It sounds like they are feeding him a few times a day, which is right for his age. He will soon be eating on his own and learning to fly.

[bluecheck]

don't worry, things are going 100% according to plan. He really won't have lift and flight till he's actually about 35 days old. The four week thing is more when a lot of domestic breeders move the babies to a different section of the loft where they can learn to feed themselves, etc., but they actually wean at about 35 days.

Frank

[Jaye]

Also.....the redtail will likely be back...if he hasn't already been....to him, his sibling was the easiest of meals, and they have good memories. So, if your fortress has worked thus far...don't dismantle it now. Check it daily and make sure it's in good, solid condition. Look at any areas where the hawk may be able to penetrate, and correct them.

Redtails aren't the most stubborn of hawks....if the potential victim is being a real hassle to get...they will move onto something else, something easier. They are also not "small-space" predators; they don't generally have the guts to swoop into enclosed or semi-enclosed areas; and they are big and not extremely agile....thus, they do most of their attacking from above in open sky.... it well could be that the wierdness of the gauntlet you have thrown up has successfully dissuaded him thus far.

The baby cannot really fly until 35 days or so...and once that happens, he will likely just be taking short "hop-flights" around. But until it can fly, it would be completely at the mercy of a hawk.

So...keep it up !

Keep us posted on baby growin' up, too.

[abbysian]

Picture of my pigeon baby's "fortress"...Terrace of my high rise building...Parents waiting for me to put out bird feed. Baby stretching his legs under the table...Baby sleeps behind the rubbermaid storage container. Lounges under the chair or next to my exercise stepper. Maintenance work is going on at this time. Workers are aware of the baby, they just work around him..I come out and sweep up after the workers leave.

[TAWhatley]

Good on you, Abbysian, and thanks for the pics! I would just keep doing what you are doing, and it won't be long before Baby spreads his wings and becomes a "big" bird.

Terry

[abbysian]

Pappa had just finished feeding baby and was sitting on the terrace ledge, relaxing...Five minutes later, the HAWK that snatched the other baby two weeks ago, appeared. It must have seen pappa feeding the baby who squeaks loudly when getting fed...The pigeons started flying around the hawk, and more pigeons appeared and started flying around it too!!!I ran to the window and I think I scared him off...Please GOD, don't let that hawk get to the little baby. There's nothing more I can do, I have him covered as best I can, I cannot sit and guard the window all day. I have to go to work...Baby is just starting to flap his wings and hop around...

[Jaye]

If he saw you before he took off...that's a very good thing. That may dissuade him from coming again. Again, redtails are not as ballsy as the smaller hawks...if they determine a site is too risky, they will not make a huge effort to keep coming.

One other idea I have which I have read works for a bit...if you have a relatively good sized mirror (2x2 or larger) or even a full height vertical mirror which you can put outside facing towards where the hawk was....

Think of a good place to put it..... the idea being, should a hawk come and try to enter....they will suddenly see another hawk and flee.

Mirrors don't bother pigeons, since they like each other's company....but solitary hunters like hawks will not cross into another one's territory. So if they see another going for the same target...they will leave.

Another thing which has some success is this: stringing some CD's on a line, maybe 4 or 5, about a foot apart from each other, and stringing it across the balcony....maybe at the level about a foot above the balcony rail, but a bit inside the balcony, not above the rail. In the breeze the CD's move a bit and they cause reflections....this also deters hawks for a while. Finally, flags...anything like that which that flaps in the breeze....

Both of these deterrents are not foolproof, they will only work for a few weeks, maybe a month at best. But, baby only needs another week or so to be flying, so we are near that time.

Last thing to keep in mind: generally hawks hunt in the AM and then again in the afternoon...so 7-10AM then, like 4-7 PM are the most dangerous times.

Quite honestly...I think if it is a redtail...it's not gonna be able to get through what you have set up...but the mirror isn't a bad idea for added security.

[abbysian]

Yes, it is a red tail. I got a good look at it again this morning. Papa and mama were sitting on the ledge and papa came over and started eating some of the bird seed that I put out. Baby started squealing to get fed, then all of a sudden, mama's head shot up, papa made some sort of noise, baby stopped squeaking and ran back behind the storage container and mama and papa took of flying. A few minutes later, about six more pigeons started flying in the same direction. That is when I spotted the red tail hawk sitting on the top floor of a nearby building. The pigeons started darting and flying around the hawk until it flew off.

[Jaye]

Originally Posted by abbysian

then all of a sudden, mama's head shot up, papa made some sort of noise, baby stopped squeaking and ran back behind the storage container and mama and papa took of flying. The pigeons started darting and flying around the hawk until it flew off.

Well...believe it or not...that reaction from the pigeons is great news. Especially that the baby would bolt for cover one her parents startled.

If you see the hawk again...make it very, very obvious that you are the occupant of your balcony. Let him see you...maybe toss around a few things here and there (not to startle or scare the baby) like waving a towel, etc.

I should also say....the only DEFINITE way to insure that that hawk doesn't get the squeaker, is...to take the squeaker inside your apt. Any other alternative which we have talked about doesn't amount to a foolproof solution in keeping the hawk away and keeping the baby alive.

I understand why you wouldn't want to do this....but I thought it needed mention.

I would definitely change-up something on your terrace...add a towel, string the CD's, place the mirror, etc.

That is a pretty bold redtail to actually fly into a semi-enclosed space like that. They don't do that around these parts.....

Take care and keep us posted.

[abbysian]

Definately cannot bring baby in. I have a cat, who watches these pigeons every day. When they sit on the window sill, my cat starts meowing and smacking at the window...The pigeons just look at her...Great news-I went to look out of my terrace door this morning, to do my daily check, and I saw an unfamiliar pigeon walking around. Mama and papa were sitting on the ledge, just hanging out. So I'm looking at the other pigeon and saying to myself "who the hell is that!" . Why aren't mama and papa running him off the terrace like the do to all of the other pigeons that invade their turf!.Then I took a good look at it and "oh shoot, that's baby!". He's the spitting image of mama, almost her size too. Then to my amazement, papa stood up on the ledge, started making a strange noise, then little baby started flapping his wings and flew up onto the ledge next to papa. Parents then began cleaning him and picking whatever they saw off of his face and feathers. He just stood there and let them tend to him. Then papa rewarded him with a feeding...Thank goodness he's starting to fly. I hope that if the hawk does spot him, it will just think that baby is just another pigeon and not try to come after him. He's gotten sooo big in just a few days..