# Happy Endings for Two Pigeons in San Francisco



## SerendipityCA (May 2, 2008)

Back in May I found two injured pigeons from "my" flock within 24 hours. One flew directly into me then did cartwheels in the air, flopped around on the ground and ended up under a car. I managed to get him into a box and took him to San Francisco ACC, which had a transport coming within an hour from the humane society at Coyote Point in San Mateo County, who does wildlife rehab for them. To be honest, I feared that this one was a goner so I never called back about him.

I suspected he had been poisoned but upon doing a bit of research I don't know that that was a valid assumption.

BUT, at the time, that might explain my reaction when I found ANOTHER pigeon that I thought was dying, within 24 hours. This one was lying on the cement next to the backyard fence, right in front of my carport space, late at night.

I actually thought he was dead, until I looked and saw he was still breathing. I assumed he was dying so rather than disturb him in his final moments, I thought I would leave him to pass in peace, then would go back in an hour and dispose of his body in a respectful manner.

(yes, this really does have a happy ending - two in fact!)

When I went back an hour later, he was still lying there, still breathing!

Mind you, it was dark back there but I could see that at least.

So, I thought I would pick him up and put him in a box on the front seat of my car because I needed to go to sleep and didn't want him to be found by a neighbor in the morning (there are 11 cars that park back there).

So, I got a box and went to put him in it and oddly found that I could not lift him!

To my shock, I saw that his head was wedged under the wooden fence that separates my yard from the neighbors' yard.

I do not know how he got his head wedged under there. And I had no idea how I was going to get him out!

I got some tools and thought of prying the wooden board loose, but if I pivoted it out I was going to put even more pressure on his neck!

Somehow, I don't know how, I managed to raise the board enough to slide him sideways until he was under the board next to it, that had more vertical clearance from the ground, and I got him out.

I held him in my hands and he lay there with his eyes half open, not moving, then closed his eyes.

I really thought he was going to die soon, so I put him in the box and put him on the front seat of my car. I figured that he would at least die in peace and I could dispose of his body in the morning.

So I went out the next morning and opened the box, expecting to find a dead pigeon in it - and he was STANDING UP IN THE BOX!

He looked at me as if to say "hello, where's my breakfast?"

So... I took him to WildCare in Marin, who do wildlife rehab.

They took him in and really gave him first class treatment. X-rays, IV fluids round the clock, put him in an incubator. 

He was extremely weak, dehydrated and underweight, and had some other issues.

Anyway, I called every couple of days to check on him, and he did great!

Eventually when he was stronger they put him in their aviary with a bunch of other pigeons, including some babies and fledglings.

I had told them he *might* be part of a bonded pair and I might like to release him back to my flock. They said that might be a possibility but also when they have birds together in the aviary, they tend to bond with each other and sometimes they decide to release them together to form a flock.

So, that's what happened with him. He was released around WildCare on June 9th - he'd been there almost six weeks, living the high life!

I cannot believe that the pigeon I found near death with his head wedged under a fence actually survived, lived, thrived, and got released with a bunch of new buddies!

So, happy ending #1

The next story happened yesterday and is equally hairy, but I think will also have a happy ending.

The building next to mine is a twin of mine, a 24-unit building. They have pigeon proofed their lightwells with this plastic netting. Imagine that the lightwells are like these U-shaped recesses. Well, they filled in the fourth side with netting that actually juts out several feet from the building, and they filled it in at the roof level as well. There's a fire escape there too.

So, yesterday I was walking down the driveway and for some reason I looked up at the sky and I saw what I thought was a dead pigeon lying on the netting that extends from the roof. The pigeon wasn't moving.

So, I went up onto the roof of MY building and hopped over to their roof to get a closer look, and as I approached the lightwell, the pigeon started flapping around. I was shocked that it was alive.

I talked pretty to it, and it calmed down. As I got closer I could see that its leg was completely wound up in the plastic netting, and it was trapped.

The problem was that I couldn't reach it! It was WAY out from the building, not even over the fire escape, but kind of over thin air above the driveway.

I climbed down the vertical ladder and stood with one foot on the ladder and one foot on the fire escape, and tried to reach up but even then, it was too far out for me to cut it free.

So, I went back to the roof and looked at the netting ... it was secured with rigging wire all the way around. I could cut three sides of it but not the fourth side. And if I cut the sides I could reach, the entire "roof" of the netting would fall AWAY from me - taking the bird with it.

So, I decided to snip the wires, and start cutting the netting, and with the wire cut I hoped that the netting would either rip, or at least stretch enough that I could gradually pull the pigeon toward me and maybe get it close enough.

Indeed, by some miracle, and by leaning WAY out from the edge of the building, I was able to actually touch the pigeon. I cut the netting around it, until there was just the part where its foot was caught. Then I was able to cut that, and scoop the pigeon up toward me and cradle it against my chest.

For some reason - very luckily - the pigeon didn't fight me!

It felt lovely to hold it and to know that it was safe and I could actually get that nasty netting off its foot and get it some help.

I did major damage to the neighbor's netting but I DON'T CARE. It's a death trap for pigeons and therefore, in my opinion, EVIL.

So, I had brought up a box and I popped the pigeon into it ... its tail feathers had looked pretty messed up, perhaps from its struggle, I don't know. But it was 4:30 at that time and I called WildCare which closed at 5 pm and they said they would tell the night feeder to expect me, so I didn't even cut the plastic off its leg, I just drove straight up there.

But anyway, I turned her in, she was a lovely little thing with soft grey feathers, and they cut the plastic off her leg, and the next day I called for an update and they said she had gained 50 grams overnight, was eating and drinking, had no broken bones, and was doing great!

I still remember how I felt when I went up onto that roof and saw that she was alive, and I was COMPLETELY stumped as to how I was going to get to her. It was like this feeling of helplessness, combined with this feeling that I didn't know how I was going to do it, but there was NO FREAKING WAY I was going to just go back downstairs and have my dinner while that pigeon lay trapped in the netting, waiting for a hawk to come and claim her, or simply lying there for days, dehydrated, hungry, terrified, dying.

Actually, now that I think of it, I could probably have gotten some of those tree-pruning shears, really long ones, and cut the netting around her in such a way that she kind of swung down, and if I did it right, she would have come right down to me on the fire escape!

Oh well, that would have been plan B. Luckily what I tried worked, by some miracle.

Two success stories in a row - I am so HAPPY!!!


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

Whoever you are, I love you so much!!!

This post made my day. Thank you sooo very much for saving these two pigeons. You are a wonderful person, and I truly wish we have more people like you in this world.

Thank you, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! hugs!!!!


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## SerendipityCA (May 2, 2008)

Miss Sassy-Pants, thank you too for everything you do, and for caring about pigeons. It's sad for me to think that of the 48 tenants in that building and mine, I am probably the only one who would care enough to try to help a trapped pigeon.

Years ago a bonded pair was having babies on the first floor fire escape of that building. One of them was killed by a car in the driveway. I came home and didn't want to drive over it so I disposed of it. Then, I didn't know enough about babies to realize that the other parent might not feed the little one... I would walk down the driveway for the next couple of weeks and see the baby standing on the fire escape, looking down at me, and it never occurred to me that it might not be getting food. Then, one day I saw the baby standing on the ground in the carport area. He had a wound on his neck. So I took him to Wildcare but he was too far gone.

Anyway I rang the bell of the woman who lived in the studio there, to ask if she knew what had happened to the baby and whether she had hit him. She denied it, but she let me in to look out her window and check the fire escape. I found a dead baby, his body was dessicated almost, he'd been there a long time.

I told her about taking the baby to WildCare and she looked mystified and said "Why didn't you just throw him in the trash?" I was shocked, and said "BECAUSE HE WAS ALIVE" and she shrugged and said "he would have died eventually."

I wanted to slap her fat face.

That's the type of neighbor I have. 

Anyway I will make a point of checking the roofs and the netting around my building from now on.


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## Miss-Sassypants (Sep 25, 2010)

You are gorgeous. I would have joined you in slapping her face but then again, I'd be accused of being a mean aggressive person, lol (as one poster would say!)

I totally understand your predicament. My neighbourhood isn't any better but thankfully, my direct neighbours - the ones on the same floor - knows about my bird-loving quest and have repeatedly commended me on such actions. But on their own, they would never 'rescue' any animals, but I guess it's good enough they are supportive of me.

There are good samaritans that regularly feed the pigeons. In fact, plenty of them in the surrounding blocks. So the birds don't have any shortage of food. And they cleverly drink from the community cat's drinking bowl. I don't know if that's healthy with the cat's saliva and all... but the pigeons seems ok.

I wish I had the means to build a storage place kinda like a mini ' bird hospital' and have all the supplies at hand. Unfortunately, living with my parents, and being unemployed means pushing that dream behind. But ONE DAY!!!

Please do keep sharing your bird stories. I'm such a big fan of yours!!


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