Another AGSG pigeon found near Pittsburgh

[SWPenn]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum and actually to the world of pigeons. I live in the Pittsburgh area and recently purchased a home in the Economy Borough area north of town. From the first day we saw the house, we noticed there was a bird living near or on the back porch but didn't think much about it. At first we were just trying to chase it off the porch and he started to live under the eve of the roof. We have not moved in and we're doing a lot of renovations before we move in so we aren't around all the time but are there for short periods of time working around the yard or painting. I noticed the pigeon was still around and eventually noticed he was tagged.

Anyway, I started searching on line to try to learn about him and eventually found your website. He's healthy and pretty plump so he's been eating well. And he's not injured. It appears he wanders off during the day to do whatever he does and then he comes back around 4:00 or so and he stays on the porch until morning. I've been trying to get close enough to see his bands and finally was able to today. His band is AGSG 07 544102. I can get pretty close to him but he won't let me handle him or pick him up.

I noticed in reading this board that there were others found near here... does anyone know if there were any AGSG pigeon businesses in the SW PA? Not that it matters, but I was just curious.

I'd like to find a good home for him but not sure where to begin and really don't know anything about birds. We frequently rescue dogs but have never rescued a bird before! In fact we have a bird dog now and he really doesn't like having the bird around but most of the time he ignores him. Since he won't let me handle him, I've built a shelter which is pretty much a wood box that would keep him dry and it's on the back porch roof eve. I put food in it for him but so far he doesn't seem to want to go inside. It's been getting colder lately but he doesn't seem to mind... I keep hoping he'll go in the shelter but can't seem to force him to.

If anyone has advice on trying to take care of him or how to coax him into the shelter, please let me know. (you can email me at dggivens06@comcast.net) Also if there is anyone interested in adopting him, please let me know and I would be more then happy to do what I can to get him to a safe home.

Dave

[TAWhatley]

Hi Dave and welcome to Pigeon-Talk! Thank you so much for being concerned for this AGSG banded pigeon. We have no way of knowing the people in your area that may have had these birds. It's awfully good of you to be trying to provide for this bird.

I suspect the bird will soon figure out that you have provided shelter for it and also food in there. Hopefully s/he will take up residence in the box. If there is any way you can catch this bird and get it into some type of enclosure, that would be great. I imagine we can find a good home for the bird here on Pigeon-Talk if you can get it confined.

Could you post a picture of the bird? Many of the AGSG birds have been Flights or mixed breeds though another member here recently got a black racing pigeon that was AGSG banded.

Terry

[SWPenn]

I will try to get a picture if I can. Yesterday was the closest I could get to him and I was pretty excited to at least read his band information. He actually has 2 bands. I believe the one with his AGSG information is darker blue and the other band is white or light grey. That band doesn't seem to have anything on it.

He is very pretty and I don't think I really noticed the subtle colorations around his chest and neck until yesterday. He's mostly a solid charcoal color with white tail feathers. His upper chest region and neck is ringed in purple and then some green.

I just bought the house so I'm not there all the time and usually just on weekends and during the evening after work. However I've gotten to know his patterns over the last few weeks. He's not around during the day. In fact a couple of weekends ago, I thought maybe he had moved on because I didn't see him all weekend. What I didn't realize was that when it got dark, he would come back and spend the night. Once the sun came up, he'd wander off and do whatever he does during the day. I've stopped by a couple of times during the week on my lunch hour and he wouldn't be around but if I came by around 6:00 to do some work, he'd be back. Sometimes I can't see him which is why I really didn't realize he was still around because it gets dark so early this time of year and he has very dark colors.

He looks very healthy and is pretty "plump" for lack of a better way to describe his build. He seems to be finding plenty of food which could explain why he doesn't seem overly interested in what I've been providing for him at the house. We had a light dusting of snow last night so that could change.

Anyway, thanks for the reply and I'm going to keep trying to get closer to him to try and earn some trust. I'll definitely post a picture if I can get one.

Dave

[pittsburgh24]

Hi,
I live in Pittsburgh (in the city) I also have one of those birds, I actually caught him with a butterfly net.
Please call me
412 418-1539 and I can help you with him.

-Cheryl

[SWPenn]

Thanks everyone for the help. I was determined to catch him tonight because the weather here is horrible and sure enough he was sitting on the roof again this evening. I was able to get him and I suspect he was just really cold and didn't seem to care. He's inside in a large box with a screened side so he can get air and light.... at least he's warm and dry at this point and I was able to get him fresh water and food. I'll call the wildlife recovery organization tomorrow morning and see if I can take him there. I was going to try to take a picture of him but I didn't want to scare him and just really wanted to get him inside safely so he would get warm.

maybe try calling Cheryl to come get this pigeon since she already has some ,not sure the wildlife people really want to deal with pigeons from what I have read here many times of them trying to adopt them out , just a thought

[pittsburgh24]

Please contact me, I have a good relationship with Wildbird Recovery and I will personally make sure he gets a good home. Beth McMasters is the
rehabber and she already placed one of these birds in a permanent home.
I am so glad the bird is safe!!!! The hawks have been very aggressive the past couple of weeks, he's a lucky bird!

[SWPenn]

Thanks Cheryl... I'll try to reach you later today. I can also be reached at 412-606-6812. It seems like I got him in just in time. We had about 2 inches of snow on the ground this morning and it probably was the coldest night of the season so far. He seems content in his makeshift home and it looked like he ate some of the food I gave him last night. At least he kind of pecked at it. Dave

[gogo45]

hello i am good friends with the agsg pigeon club and i would like
to adopt him so please contact me at naemehjbarah@yahoo.com

[twiswicig]

I hope other members would love to share their great photos and experiences in this topic.