On September 8th 2013 heavy winds battered our little village of Pukerau in Southland NZ. Keith was away on business so I went about my daily chores as normal. Early evening I received a distress phone call from a neighbour...a baby pigeon had fallen from the nest during the wind storm the night before... The neighbours cat had sharpened his claws and was very keen to add 'baby pigeon' to the dinner menu.
When I arrived at the neighbours to collect the tiny rock pigeon, he was huddled near their garage with a saucer of water and sliced banana... (good intentions by the neighbour, but the little pigeon was too young to feed himself, and I am not sure he fancied banana:-) The pigeon was not afraid, it was almost as if he sensed we were there to help... I scooped him up and we headed home... I could feel that his crop was empty, he probably had not been fed since the night before. With the cat lurking around, the parents would not have been able to come down from the pine trees to feed him. Left any longer, he would have starved to death or been pigeon dinner for the cat.
I've rescued many baby birds so was prepared with a syringe, Farex (whole grain baby cereal) and chicken starter crumble... I whipped up a batch sucked it up with the syringe and the baby pigeon consumed the lot... He was obviously starving... poor baby... I decided to call him 'Rocky' - (Homing Rock Pigeon) no rocket science there... lol.
I made him a bed in the washing basket with a hot water bottle and covered him for the night... It is always such a blessing to find rescued birds alive and well the next morning... Rocky was certainly alive, alert and more than ready for another syringe feed.
When I arrived at the neighbours to collect the tiny rock pigeon, he was huddled near their garage with a saucer of water and sliced banana... (good intentions by the neighbour, but the little pigeon was too young to feed himself, and I am not sure he fancied banana:-) The pigeon was not afraid, it was almost as if he sensed we were there to help... I scooped him up and we headed home... I could feel that his crop was empty, he probably had not been fed since the night before. With the cat lurking around, the parents would not have been able to come down from the pine trees to feed him. Left any longer, he would have starved to death or been pigeon dinner for the cat.
I've rescued many baby birds so was prepared with a syringe, Farex (whole grain baby cereal) and chicken starter crumble... I whipped up a batch sucked it up with the syringe and the baby pigeon consumed the lot... He was obviously starving... poor baby... I decided to call him 'Rocky' - (Homing Rock Pigeon) no rocket science there... lol.
I made him a bed in the washing basket with a hot water bottle and covered him for the night... It is always such a blessing to find rescued birds alive and well the next morning... Rocky was certainly alive, alert and more than ready for another syringe feed.
Rocky quickly went from strength to strength, eating well from the syringe and becoming more and more comfortable with me. I made sure he could observe our beautiful white doves eating seed and drinking water... I figured they would be good teachers. He preened regularly and began to exercise his wings.
Seven days later my hubby came home and met Rocky for the first time... that same day Rocky discovered that he could feed himself... It was a joy to watch Rocky consume real food... He was delighted to discover the water too... not only for drinking but for bathing in.. I spent hours watching him, learning his habits and photographing him. If I had a photo shoot idea, I packed him up in his wash basket with some food and off we went...
Rocky was never caged... he was free to roam the house, sun himself on the outside deck, meet the wild Malay Spotted dove, and follow me around the garden... He would practice flying on our heads or shoulders...
Rocky silently crept into our hearts and we fell in love with him...he is so delightful, affectionate and entertaining. We had a 6 week trip already booked to Africa, Dubai and Thailand, so I knew Rocky would need to learn to fly in order to return to the wild. We had the best flying instructors in the house... our rescued white Doves D-Pax and D-Luv.. The lessons began! We gave Rocky a bright orange leg tag so that if he left we could identify him if he chose to return one day from the wild...
With such brilliant flight instructors, it did not take long for Rocky to master flight... He often came looking for me in the garden, or he spent time with the doves... Our overseas holiday was not far away... we were delighted that the lessons went well and he could fly...
Our pet/house sitters arrived, and we departed for our six week adventure... We knew that we may never see Rocky again... It was amazing how sad that made us both feel... We saw Rock Pigeons in Dubai and it made us think of Rocky, we saw them in Africa and in Thailand and it made us think of Rocky. But we kept telling ourselves that he was a wild bird... we had been given the privilege of helping him, and he survived... He was free to leave when he was ready... We returned after six weeks, and our pet/house sitters confirmed that 'Rocky had left home'... our hearts sank. Two days later Rocky flew in... we were ecstatic to see him... he was looking so good, he had turned out to be a very handsome young man... He was a little nervous when approached, I guess six weeks is a long time... But it was so good to see him...
Rocky has continued to visit twice and sometimes three times a day... His food is always set up inside the house in a sheltered area with an open door for him to enter... On one occasion he did not visit for eight days.... I must admit I feared the worst... and it was a very happy day when he flew in again. On occasion he brings his family or friends around... they never join him for a meal... but he always has a good fill when he visits, he preens himself, pops round to say hi to the doves, sometimes doing the courtship dance for them or to his own reflection in the window.
Although Rocky has gone back into the wild, he is a welcome part of our family of birds and just to prove that he has not forgotten us, he will often hop onto our shoulder or head and enjoy being carried around the house or garden.
We have no idea where he spends his days or where he sleeps at night, but he knows where to find a plate of good wholesome food and some people who love him. He is free to come and go for as long as he chooses... Rocky has been a special part of our lives for 6 months now... And we look forward to seeing him for the next 3 - 6 years, and if we are lucky maybe the next 18 years...
Although Rocky has gone back into the wild, he is a welcome part of our family of birds and just to prove that he has not forgotten us, he will often hop onto our shoulder or head and enjoy being carried around the house or garden.
We have no idea where he spends his days or where he sleeps at night, but he knows where to find a plate of good wholesome food and some people who love him. He is free to come and go for as long as he chooses... Rocky has been a special part of our lives for 6 months now... And we look forward to seeing him for the next 3 - 6 years, and if we are lucky maybe the next 18 years...
FACTS ABOUT PIGEONS
- Pigeons are our most common urban bird.
- They are amazingly resourceful creatures, able to survive in the midst of predatory humanity.
- Even so, up to 35% of a local population may perish annually from natural causes and predators.
- Pigeons flock together in large numbers to protect themselves against, cats, rats and foxes.
- Even when times are tough and the weather is freezing and stormy, they co-operate with each other and readily accept outsiders into their flock.
- They have easy temperaments and are adaptable and hardy, which no doubt accounts for their ability to maintain numbers.
- The most widespread misconception about urban pigeons is that they are carriers of disease.
- The truth is that the vast majority of people are at little or no health risk and people probably have a greater chance of being struck by lightning than contracting disease from a pigeon.
- Pigeons pair for life.
- Both parents take an equal role in caring for their young.
- The chicks are helpless when first hatched and are fed for the first few days on 'pigeon milk' regurgitated from both parents' throats.
- The phenomenal navigational abilities of pigeons largely depend on their keen vision and memory for landmarks. Over the centuries these qualities have become legendary.