# Just One More of Those Pigeon Moments



## goulian (May 15, 2007)

Hi All,


I wanted to tell you about one of those pigeon moments that happens ocassionally and just makes you say "Wow!" There is a little black pigeon who is new to the flock I feed. She (I think) has been in the flock for about two weeks. She is very dirty, solid black, with extremely bright orange eyes.
The first thing she does when she sees me is fly to my left shoulder and ride there to the feeding site. She had been doing this for about a week. Today, after I arrived at the feeding site with her sitting patiently on my left shoulder, I turned my face towards her and said "What makes you think I will let you continue to be my shoulder buddy?" As I and my friend watched her, she leaned forward and gently pecked me on my upper lip, then rubbed her head against my left cheek. Needless to say, she has assured herself the right to sit on my shoulder whenever she wants to. 
That kind of thing makes you wonder if these little feathered beings can actually understand what is said to them. I am convinced that sometimes, at least, they certainly can.

Take care, All, and happy pigeoning.


Mike


----------



## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

Mike,

What a delightful experience that was for you. She gave you one of the most precious gifts she had to give, the one of trust. What a treasure. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Margaret


----------



## Snowbird Sue (Dec 31, 2007)

I agree! What a delightful experience! I hope someday I am "Lucky " enough to have an encounter like that. What a beautiful Pigeon Moment!!  Thank you so much for sharing with us.


----------



## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

That is just too sweet. 
Sounds like she may want to be your house pigeon.


----------



## goulian (May 15, 2007)

Charis said:


> That is just too sweet.
> Sounds like she may want to be your house pigeon.


Well, had she done this before I got an in house pigeon family, I probably would have given her the chance. But I started out wanting only one in house pigeon. I have since changed that to two because of the obvious (two baby pigeons). But, she will still get top billing at the breakfast feeding frenzy. She spends little time on the ground fighting with the other birds to get her share as she remains in my hand until I give her another handful. Sweet and smart. 

Take care.

Mike


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Ohhhh Mike! Another heart melt down for me .. what a totally wondrous thing for that pigeon to do .. you are blessed! I am especially fond of self black pigeons, and my heart would have been stolen in an instant!

Terry


----------



## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

It would be great to see a picture.


----------



## goulian (May 15, 2007)

You know, Charis, I had already decided to have my friend take a photo of Blackie (I named her that due to lack of imagination) at tomorrow's feeding session. Great minds think alike, I guess. I do know that photos are recieved very well on this site. I will show her in all her cuteness tomorrow.

Tale care.

Mike


----------



## goulian (May 15, 2007)

TAWhatley said:


> Ohhhh Mike! Another heart melt down for me .. what a totally wondrous thing for that pigeon to do .. you are blessed! I am especially fond of self black pigeons, and my heart would have been stolen in an instant!
> 
> Terry


Hi, Terry,


I could be that she just had an itch at that moment and my cheek was readily available. But, I refuse to see it that way. Even if that is all it was, the warmth of that moment was intense, especially on a cold winter morning.


Take care,

Mike


----------



## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

goulian said:


> You know, Charis, I had already decided to have my friend take a photo of Blackie (I named her that due to lack of imagination) at tomorrow's feeding session. Great minds think alike, I guess. I do know that photos are recieved very well on this site. I will show her in all her cuteness tomorrow.
> 
> Tale care.
> 
> Mike


Hopefully the picture will be of her on your shoulder.


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Mike .. it was an incredible and special moment .. no matter what!

Terry


----------



## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

She sure sounds friendly, Mike! Could she have belonged to someone?

I hope she will be OK...personality + sweeties don't come around every day!

Shi & Squeaks


----------



## goulian (May 15, 2007)

Hi Shi and Squeaks,

No, she did not belong to anyone. She is just another feral in the flock. The thing is that this flock, or at least most of the members of this flock, seem to have accepted me as one of them. To a bystander on the street, watching me walk to the feeding site with fifty or sixty pigeons running and walking all around me and even between my feet, sometimes on my feet, must look very strange. I have to walk very carefully or risk actually stepping on one. Somtimes they "hover" in mass all around me and go to the site that way. It is quite a thing to see. I am sure that those of you who feed ferals regularly observe the same behavior from your flock. As I throw a handful of grain for them, I have to watch out or I may hit one with my hand. They act like they are starving to death, but of course they are not. They probably get enough from me to last most of the day, if not all of it.

A few days ago, I noticed a bird with string on it's feet. It was standing on the ground right in front of my feet. By the time I reached down to pick it up, the onrushing birds had arrived there and I had about five pigeons pinned under my under my hand. I had to pull them away to get the one I wanted off the ground.

All I can say is that the whole pigeon feeding experience is something that can not be readily explained to someone who has never done it for an extended period. Feeding a flock once in a while is great, but feeding the same flock everyday until you and they are one, is something that defies description. Only those who have done it can understand. Even those who have a pet pigeon can only guess what it is like to have a "pet" flock, as those who have never had a pigeon pet can only guess what that is like. It is, or has the potential to be, life changing. 

Pardon me if I seem to be rambling, but this whole pigeon thing is awesome. Nuff said. Hehe.

Take care, and happy pigeoning.


Mike


----------



## naturegirl (Nov 7, 2005)

She actually gave you her idea of a Pigeon Kiss. My Pigeons do that all the time to me and it is so precious when they trust you so much, looks like you have a friend for life, Congratulations!!!!!!

Cindy


----------



## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

Yeah, that is how my doves kiss. It's a very special expression of love, how they kiss each other by little pecks and rubs and 'false feeding'. Sometimes it looks very passionate.


----------



## goulian (May 15, 2007)

Hello, Everyone,

Here are three pictures taken of Blackie, one of them including another member of the flock. The photos by themselves are cool, but to really appreciate them, there is a story to be told. And, oh yeah…I’m going to tell it. All these pictures were taken after the flock had eaten for about ten minutes. Most, if not all, were full and just milling around the area. Some were lying on the ground, some were cooing and chasing other pigeons around…you know, just doing pigeon things. As you well know, when pigeons are hungry, and food is offered, they go crazy trying to get as much as they can. But, after they are full, and their hunger no longer dominates their thinking, they mellow out and it is then that their individual personalities become apparent.

In the first photo, Blackie has just finished her last handful of grain and is full. She stood there while I scratched her belly with my index and middle fingers. She allowed me to do this for about a minute when she decided to rearrange the contents of her crop. This, and the fact that the belly rubbing may have affected her somewhat, she flew to my shoulder (2nd photo) and commenced to perform the most erotic (speaking pigeonly, of course) crop dance I have ever seen, all the time looking me straight in the eyes. This crop dance continued for several minutes and was hilarious. It was all I could do to not laugh out loud. Soon, another pigeon flew to my hand. This one was also full and since there was no food in my hand, he must have had some other reason for flying there. Apparently he wanted to play. He pecked my hand with his beak and I caught it between my thumb and finger (3rd photo). We continued this “tug of beak” stuff for a couple of minutes. It was then that I noticed that Blackie had moved from my left shoulder to my right forearm and took a seat to watch the beak pulling fun that was going on with the other bird. I guess she was watching intently to see if I was showing too much attention to the other bird. After all, hadn’t she just performed the best crop dance of her life for me? What nerve I had to spend time with this other bird so soon after such a performance. And it was a male at that!

Anyway, the point of this is, if you want to really see a pigeons true personality, or any animals for that matter, eliminate the hunger drive. It is then that the bird’s true beauty and affection shows. Unfortunately, it is only a few birds that have such personalities as the ones in the photos. The rest of the pigeons in the flock do trust me enough to eat at my feet or in my hand, but not enough to show real affection. Kind of like people, some are very friendly, while others are not.

Take care, All, and happy pigeoning.

Mike


----------



## Poulette (Feb 5, 2002)

Wow Mike! Yes, that is real affection. Thanks for this beautiful moments and pictures


----------



## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Those pics are so precious, especially considering that those are "wild" birds. What an honor to have such great, trusting pigeon friends.

Reti


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

What a lovely little surprise, and yes she did understand you. I love black pigeons as I have one myself, and she is VERY smart and tame too.

I enjoyed the pics, what a sweety. give her a kiss back!


----------



## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

What a cute bird. She resembles my little Libby. I found Libby cold, limp and newly hatched on the garage floor just about this time of year, three years ago. I thought she was dead but warmed her in my hands and in a little bit, she came back to the living. I hand raised her from just that little bit of a thing. She's one of the sweetest pigeons I've ever known.


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Wonderful story and photos, Mike! Looks like you have definitely been accepted as a member of the flock!  

Terry


----------



## Lin Hansen (Jan 9, 2004)

Mike, great stories and photos....it must be so gratifying to know you have forged such a nice bond with some of them.

Linda


----------

