[Guest]

I think. He is just sitting on the roof of our barn (on the side) and stayed there all night and was still there when we left for work
this morning. It rained heavy all night too.
Should I try to help the bird or does he know what he is doing?
That is if he is still there when we get home tonight.
I am near Gretna/Smith Mtn. Lake area of VA.

 

[Lovebirds]

I think. He is just sitting on the roof of our barn (on the side) and stayed there all night and was still there when we left for work
this morning. It rained heavy all night too.
Should I try to help the bird or does he know what he is doing?
That is if he is still there when we get home tonight.
I am near Gretna/Smith Mtn. Lake area of VA.

Please try to capture the bird. If it has a band, let us know what the band says. I know a couple of pigeon fanciers near you and can probably get one of them to pick up the bird. It might even belong to one of them.

 

[Cindy VA]

Will I be able to just pick it up or do we have to actually trap it
somehow? He is near a bird feeder and a bird bath, will he
help himself, there are lots of finches and cardinals feeding on them.
Why do you think he is hanging out there?

 

[Lovebirds]

That depends on what kind of shape he's in. If the bird is hard to catch, then there's not a lot that you can do really. If he allows you to get close enough to pick him up, then he's in real trouble. If he's hungry (and he probably is), he'll eat with the wild birds. However, yes, if you can, you can just pick him up. They don't bite and can't hurt you in any way.
Can you see if he has bands on his legs? If it's a lost race bird, there may be two bands at least. One on each leg.

 

[Cindy VA]

Oh good, then he has plenty to eat and drink today if he wants.

Will try to help him tonight when we get home if he needs it.
He was crouched down so I couldn't see if he had any bands on him. If we do catch him tonight is my large cat carrier going to be big enough for him? Any other suggestions? I also have a folded
up tall ferret cage somewhere I can try to dig out.

Can you email me a number to call tonight of the local people you know? My email address is [email protected]. I will be leaving here at 4:30 today and won't have access to email until
tomorrow.

Thanks for your help!!

 

[Lovebirds]

Oh good, then he has plenty to eat and drink today if he wants.

Will try to help him tonight when we get home if he needs it.
He was crouched down so I couldn't see if he had any bands on him. If we do catch him tonight is my large cat carrier going to be big enough for him? Any other suggestions? I also have a folded
up tall ferret cage somewhere I can try to dig out.

Can you email me a number to call tonight of the local people you know? My email address is [email protected]. I will be leaving here at 4:30 today and won't have access to email until
tomorrow.

Thanks for your help!!

Just sent you an email. The cat carrier will be fine for now until we figure out where the bird is from and what to do with it.

 

[Lovebirds]

You might also be able to put some food in the cat carrier and set it outside and see if he'll go inside it. If he's a racing pigeon, he's used to being in baskets and such...........

 

[RodSD]

Offer food and drink. The bird might see it and probably is hungry and thirsty now.

 

[james fillbrook]

well is it still there lol

 

[Lovebirds]

well is it still there lol

No, I got an email and she said that when she got home last night, the bird was gone.
With a bird feeder in the yard and a bird bath, I sort of expect that the bird ate some, got a drink of water, got his wits about him and went home. At least that's what I'm HOPING happened. We'll probably never really know.

 

[james fillbrook]

No, I got an email and she said that when she got home last night, the bird was gone.
With a bird feeder in the yard and a bird bath, I sort of expect that the bird ate some, got a drink of water, got his wits about him and went home. At least that's what I'm HOPING happened. We'll probably never really know.

yeah i had a pure white fntail come to me to eat look un well to i went to go and get a box and it was gone

 

[Cindy VA]

He's back!


Thanks Renee for posting the update, I should have done
that.
Well this morning while getting ready for work, the dogs were barking (they are fenced in), and there he was,
up on the roof again. I tried to talk to him to see how he
would act, and he went from the bottom of the barn roof to the top. So I guess he isn't too sure of me. Then he flew
from one roof to the other (about 10 feet). He doesn't
seem hurt, he looks fine. And doesn't seem too scared,
guess he likes the food and water.
I have a meeting tonight so I won't get home until 7pm.
But will look for him and see what I can do.
And how visible are these bands? I looked at his legs
(or she) and I couldn't see any.
Sure is a pretty bird.

 

[Lovebirds]

Thanks Renee for posting the update, I should have done
that.
Well this morning while getting ready for work, the dogs were barking (they are fenced in), and there he was,
up on the roof again. I tried to talk to him to see how he
would act, and he went from the bottom of the barn roof to the top. So I guess he isn't too sure of me. Then he flew
from one roof to the other (about 10 feet). He doesn't
seem hurt, he looks fine. And doesn't seem too scared,
guess he likes the food and water.
I have a meeting tonight so I won't get home until 7pm.
But will look for him and see what I can do.
And how visible are these bands? I looked at his legs
(or she) and I couldn't see any.
Sure is a pretty bird.

The bands would be pretty obvious. Maybe it's NOT a racing pigeon. Maybe just a white pigeon, unbanded, that someone used for a wedding/funeral and it got lost.............guess we won't know until/if you catch it. Sounds like it's surviving pretty well.

 

[Cindy VA]

So they don't band the ones they use for that huh?

Each day he/she looks better. But it looks like he has found
a new home. He roosted on top of the spotlight under the roof,
by looking at all the poop, must have been there all day.

I have a HUGE bird bath so I cleaned that out and filled it up, he swooped by it and circled the house for us, so pretty. And there
is plenty of birdseed out there. He is cautious with us but last
night we coo'd at him and he walked down the slanted roof to the gutter towards us. But won't fly to us. They can do that can't they?
And how do you talk to a pigeon? We make sounds and you can tell he is listening the way he cocks his head. So cute.

So I guess I may have to call one of those numbers this weekend,
do they raise the non-racers do you know? Or do you want him?

 

[Lovebirds]

So they don't band the ones they use for that huh?

Each day he/she looks better. But it looks like he has found
a new home. He roosted on top of the spotlight under the roof,
by looking at all the poop, must have been there all day.

I have a HUGE bird bath so I cleaned that out and filled it up, he swooped by it and circled the house for us, so pretty. And there
is plenty of birdseed out there. He is cautious with us but last
night we coo'd at him and he walked down the slanted roof to the gutter towards us. But won't fly to us. They can do that can't they?
And how do you talk to a pigeon? We make sounds and you can tell he is listening the way he cocks his head. So cute.

So I guess I may have to call one of those numbers this weekend,
do they raise the non-racers do you know? Or do you want him?

MOST people who have racers or just about any kind of pigeon for that matter do band them, but some don't. (PS: White Dove Release companies use white homers/racers, not doves). Probably because of things like this......if the bird gets lost, they don't have to be bothered with it.
Of course, there's a small chance that the bird is a feral to begin with. I doubt it, but it's not an impossibility......sadly, if there are no bands on the bird, those two numbers I gave you would probably be useless. I doubt they would come get the bird if it's not banded.
I guess for now, about the only thing you can do is just leave the bird be, and let it come and go as it wishes.............it might stay around for a while, or it might take off one day and head home. I've had lost birds come home days, weeks and even months after I thought they were gone.
Did I ask you about getting a picture of it?

 

[Cindy VA]

Great, guess we will have to live with the poop all over the
windows .
I am going to Walgreens tonight to drop off my disk, will have
some pictures tomorrow afternoon for you.
Thanks for all the information.

 

[Cindy VA]

Picture of our new white homing pigeon

Looks like he is here to stay.
See if I can post this picture.

 

[Cindy VA]

That was blurry, here is another one.
This is where he likes to hangout, on top
of the spotlight.
We are naming him Al, for albino.

 

[Cindy VA]

on the other roof

 

[Lovebirds]

Well, that's a homing pigeon. Looks a little dirty, but other than that ok. If you're going to let him stay (like you have a choice right now.....LOL), then it might be a good idea to set up the cat carrier with food and see if you can catch him.
You could build a small shelter that maybe he would decide to call "home" and during bad weather and at night, if he learned to go inside, you could lock him up. I don't know.........just a thought.
It's pretty obvious that "free" is what the bird wants. And I don't know that I would deny him that, but I just hate to see them sitting out in bad, rainy weather.........guess it may not bother them as much as it does me......
If the bird was banded, I'd approach this differently I guess, but without bands, there's a 50/50 chance of it actually being a lost "pet" OR a true feral that has taken up there for whatever reason......
I would never recommend that any one capture and contain a feral for no reason, and I would never recommend that someone just leave a banded bird to fend for its self............
Maybe I'm not making any sense..........
I've had, over the years, a couple of pigeons show up here without bands. One in particular a couple of years ago, INSISTED that it wanted to go in our loft. We opened the front door and it went in. I caught it, put it in a pen and kept it here for about 3 days..........but toward the end of those three days, the birds "wildness" began to show. I initially thought that maybe it was a lost, unbanded homer..........I think I was wrong though. After three days, I took it down to a local bridge and turned it loose. It immediately went to a group of ferals and I guess that's where it stayed. I can only assume that wherever it DID come from, maybe there was some sort of building that it was used to roosting in and our loft looked similiar.............
Anyway..............whatever you decide to do.