# Found - beautiful nun pigeon



## hickmanj (Aug 5, 2006)

Almost three weeks ago a gorgeous nun pigeon showed up on our deck beneath our bird feeder. He roosted there at night, leaning up against the house. After a couple of days I finally bought him pigeon feed and put out water. He eventually moved from the deck to roost somewhere nearby but he shows up every morning around 6:30 a.m. spends the entire day on our deck, and leaves at dusk, only to return again the next day. I have been able to get close enough to read his band but I have contacted ever organization and individual I can think of and I can't find anyone who can tell me where to look up band info. It doesn't match with any of the typical pigeon organizations that can be looked up on line. We love having him here and don't mind feeding him indefinitely but we have no protection for him in the rain or eventually cold and snow and I can't help but wonder if someone is looking for him. I've even tried the lost and found in the local paper. Any ideas on how I can get band info? The band begins with a triangle which I haven't seen anywhere. Thanks!

Jennifer


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Jennifer.

Welcome to pigeon Talk, and we appreciate your kindness to this pigeon.

Could you post the band information here, and we will see if we can get some more insight on the band #. Also, where are you located?

You should try to catch this pigeon as it is definitely susceptible to predator attack and the elements.

Do you have a cage or kennel or enclosure that you could use for temporary housing? The bird needs to be brought in a safe area, preferably inside for now.

Here is a simple trap to catch this bird.

http://www.racingbirds.com/ptrap.html

Have you tried this pigeon club locater:http://www.thepigeonloft.com/brclloc.html

Also try this one:
http://pigeoncote.com/clubs/clubs.html

Please update as we will hlp find this birds home, and if that is not possible we will find another for him.


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

Hi Jennifer. Thank you so much for helping this nun pigeon. I _love _nuns! We have six of them and they have wonderful, inquisitive, friendly personalities. One of our nuns even comes when I call his name. 

Please do try to catch your little visitor. As Treesa said, he's vulnerable to predators. Nuns have been bred as show pigeons for hundreds of years and are ill-equiped to live in the wild. 

Where are you located? If anywhere near us, I'd be willing to take him if you can't locate the owner. But you might want to keep him. Nuns make good pets.


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## hickmanj (Aug 5, 2006)

Thought I'd attach a picture, if this works. 

Jennifer


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Jennifer, what a beautiful bird! Sure hope you are able to capture this sweet bird. A white show breed like this is easy prey for local predators!


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

He's a good looking nun! I sure hope you can catch him.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

What a beauty. Thank you for sharing the picture.

Please do catch him a.s.ap as already mentioned. We will help to find its home or find a loving home for him. It would also be wise to have him looked at by a rehabber or avian vet, to make sure he is fine.

If you would like to report the bird missing, (lost and found) this might help also.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/911PigeonAlert/


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## piney_creek (Jun 5, 2006)

Where are you located?

PINEY


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## arnieismybaby (Jul 24, 2006)

What a beautiful bird - this is the first time that I've seen one of these pigeons before - stunning.

Michelle.


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## hickmanj (Aug 5, 2006)

Hi all,

Yes he is a truly gorgeous bird. We just couldn't believe it the day he showed up on our deck. It was apparent he wasn't just some lost homing pigeon. He (or she) is very special. 

In answer to the question, we live in Andover, Massachusetts. From all the asking I've done, no one seems to know of any local fancy pigeon groups in our area. There are a number of racing pigeon organizations but I've tried all of them and they haven't been able to help. 

His band is an older metal one and begins with a triangle symbol. No one I've asked has heard of that before so if anyone has any knowledge of bands starting with a symbol (triangle in particular) let me know. I understand it is likely it is a band from an older pigeon used on a younger one. He looks to be in extremely good shape and very happy....which he should be with all the special pigeon feed! Thank goodness for Agway! 

As one who works in a cat shelter and does cat rescue, pigeons are rather out of my league but I'm finding I'm enjoying him every bit as much. Now I just need to work on catching him before the hawks do. Thanks to all for all the great advice! I'll take as much as I can get!

Jennifer


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

Let him get a bit hungry and catching him will be easier. If he's used to coming to you for his meals he will probably trust you enough to take food from your hand. If he comes to eat and the only food available is in your hand, I'm willing to bet he'll go for it. You might even want to feed him several times that way in order to gain his trust before you attempt to grab him. Nuns are generally calm and on the tame side. 

Are there any feed stores in your area? If so, you might inquire as to whether the owners know of any pigeon fanciers in the area.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

This is just a long shot, but I went ahead and e-mailed the National Nuns club that was listed by George on the Nuns thread, maybe they have a member listed that lives in your town.

http://home.iprimus.com.au/spud1/uncnuns/index.htm


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## Wendyjf (Aug 7, 2006)

WOW - what a beautiful bird - I've never seen one like that before  
Sorry I'm no help, but I wanted to tell you i think your bird is gorgeous and wish you luck finding him a safe home


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

Great idea, Treesa. I'm embarrassed I didn't think of it myself, since I'm a member of the NPA (though not of the nun club). 

One of the members of my pigeon club has been involved in raising show pigeons his entire life and he is a very nice guy. He told me that a few weeks back he inadvertently lost one of his dad's prized English Trumpeters. Needless to say, he felt terrible. It turned out some lady found the bird in her yard, captured it and turned it over to a rescue organization, which one I'm not sure. But someone somewhere along the line traced the band through the NPA and found my friend. Needless to say, he was overjoyed to get the bird back. It was worth several thousand dollars.  He made a generous donation to the rescue organization that found it. 

So there are pigeon breeders out there who really appreciate getting their birds back. Even though some may not care, some do and it's worth the effort to try and find the owner.


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## hickmanj (Aug 5, 2006)

Wow, thank you so much for all the feedback! This is all so helpful. The update is that I did email the 911 pigeon alert a couple of days ago but they agree that the band is probably an old one and they never heard of the triangle either.

As for catching him, it will probably take a while to do it by hand. When he first arrived he seemed more willing to let me come close. I could get within 2 feet and almost had him eating out of my hand but couldn't quite get him to that point. Now he flies if I'm 8 feet away. He seems to be getting more scared rather than less so - probably terrified of being out on his own. I'm trying to find the time to just sit out on the deck with him but he is here mostly when I'm at work so I've given the task to my retired husband to go keep the pigeon company! 

As for keeping him. I would love to, although I must admit I don't know the first thing about raising a pigeon. I suppose I need to start doing some reading. But the first step is getting him to trust me well enough to capture him. Ultimately, I'd prefer to find his owner but that is starting to look like it might not be easy! 

I'm so glad other people think he is as beautiful as we do! We feel very blessed that such a beatiful bird chose us to be his friends!

Jennifer


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

I just got your reply on 911 Pigeon Alert. You can bet you are in wonderful hands here and can't find a place where you'll get more help. If you read this before you read your e-mails, I closed the case on 911 Pigeon Alert. We can figure out what you need to do here just as easy. Good luck and I'll keep an eye on this thread now. 

PS: Everyone, I was the one who took this case on 911 and until I got a picture a few minutes ago and realized it was the same one that was posted here, I didn't realize this beautiful bird was listed on 2 web sites. LOL Now, that I've got THAT figured out, we'll help Jennifer from here. How bout that????


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Jennifer, I had to post this picture. You are right that it's pretty odd to see a "cat in a cage" watching a free bird roam. Do you think the cat thinks that's sort of weird???


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## teebo (Jul 7, 2006)

wow,if yoou cant find its owner,i would take it.


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