# Nest in my parking garage



## jandb1216 (Jun 28, 2011)

Hello, 
I am new here and do not know much about pigeons. We have been watching a pair in their nest for the last 7-10 days. Mom and dad are faithfully in the nest. However this morning I noticed there were 2 sets of broken egg shells and the mother was still in the nest. No sign of the babies. Will the parents stay in the nest even if the babies didnt make it?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

jandb1216 said:


> Hello,
> I am new here and do not know much about pigeons. We have been watching a pair in their nest for the last 7-10 days. Mom and dad are faithfully in the nest. However this morning I noticed there were 2 sets of broken egg shells and the mother was still in the nest. No sign of the babies. Will the parents stay in the nest even if the babies didnt make it?


the shells may be because they hatched.. usually that is the first thing I see when checking on my birds.. the hatclings are very small and they usually sit on them non stop till they are older.. about a week or so old they will sit on them less and less and come to feed them a few times a day after that till weaning.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Yup....if Mom (or Dad) is in nest, then she is on the babies. If the eggs had been destroyed, unlikely that the Mom would be sitting there.....


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## jandb1216 (Jun 28, 2011)

Thanks I will be keeping an eye on them.


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

can you get pic's would love to see them.


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## jandb1216 (Jun 28, 2011)

Will try to do so. Worried more about how to protect them once they get to moving around. They decided to make the nest in front of a parking space. Not sure what to do once they start wandering.


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

please tell me they are not on the ground..but up on a beam or something


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## jandb1216 (Jun 28, 2011)

Sadly mom and dad built the nest on the ground. We have been able to keep cars from getting too close from them so far.


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

thats odd pigeons usually don't nest on the ground...some doves do..and the victoria crowned pigeon , but i don't think thats what you have


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## jandb1216 (Jun 28, 2011)

Well at least for now the local Peregrine Falcons cant find them here.


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

jandb1216 said:


> Well at least for now the local Peregrine Falcons cant find them here.


do you live in New York? i know they have them up there  thats kinds cool i like falcons too especialy peregrines, go figure  we have red tailed hawks, cooper hawks, sharpshined hawks, great horned owls, screeech owls and some other liitl owl i can't seem to identify.


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## jandb1216 (Jun 28, 2011)

Wilmington, Delaware here....the locals just hatched 5 eggs a little while ago. Went from baby Falcons to baby Pigeons.....


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

OMG i was born in wilmington Del. glad to meet you  how is the brandywine zoo doing?


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## jandb1216 (Jun 28, 2011)

nice to meet you as well. It is still up and running. Lost their tiger last year though.


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## Jaye (Mar 13, 2008)

Please post a photo of the location of the nest...it sounds like a really bad place. Do you know who's parking spot it is ?

I am thinking this might be a situation where you try a nest relocation...I mean, now would be the time to do it because the eggs aren't very old yet.....so if the Parents spook...no harm done, really....


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## jandb1216 (Jun 28, 2011)

Jaye it is not in a favorable location. I am in the middle of the city. There is nothing around me where I could move the nest to. 
The parking garage is a first come first serve. As I said before we have been able to keep the nest "safe" but as the babies start to stir I am not sure what will happen.


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## jandb1216 (Jun 28, 2011)

Saw the babies this morning. Mom and Dad were out so I can verify that both babies are well.


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## horseart4u (Jun 16, 2011)

great to hear  keep us posted


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## artnsoul3 (May 4, 2012)

*Pigeon Nesting in Parking Garage*

Hi -

I have no idea if/when someone will see this, as the thread seems kind of old - but here goes....

I have the same concern. A pigeon started a nest about 10-12 days ago in the parking garage at work. I saw the "couple" going at it awhile back in about the same area in the parking garage, but didn't pay too much attention. A week later or so, I noticed a parking spot had been blocked off. Still didn't pay much attention, until one day while going slow enough I could see there was a bird sitting on a nest.

I tried not to get involved  - but thinking about what would happen to the babies if/when they hatched bothered me. What bothered me even more, is the fact that I've never seen the male bird since that time I saw them fooling around. I've been by both during the day and at night, and it's the same bird sitting on the nest - so I'm assuming he's not involved anymore. She doesn't seem to move from the nest, so I was afraid she would starve herself. Someone else left some wild bird seed, and I left some pigeon feed and water. Others are obviously concerned, because there seems to be bread occasionally, and someone even left a huge chunk of watermelon - which seemed kinda' odd.

Anyway, tonight when I added food and replaced her water, I saw a sign by one of the other "concerned people" - to leave the bird alone as the human contact was stressing her out, and stop leaving food because she'll get her own - and the food people are leaving is drawing ants (I'm assuming they're talking about the watermelon here). I had 2 small bowls for the food and water - and even though they left the water bowl, they took the food bowl away.

Though I did have an adopted semi-tame family of pigeons in my backyard years ago (I had a duck at the time, and they were drawn to the food) - I admit that don't know/remember much about pigeons. This is far from an ideal situation, obviously not normal for humans to intervene - but sometimes it's necessary and I think they're wrong.....and they had no right to take the bowl!!! It really pissed me off, but that's beside the point 

I agree that humans stressing her out is a concern, but she's not too concerned when I've gotten closer to leave the food. She either leans way over, or leaves the nest for a minute while I'm there, getting right back on after eating some of the food. I wish I didn't have to pass her on my way up the parking structure, but now that I know she's there - I can't help but be concerned. If I was sure the male was involved and taking on some of the sitting while she went for food - I would probably not be as concerned, but then there's the situation if/when the eggs hatch out. I'm assuming they'll get run over by cars, etc. when they start to become active.

I'm tempted to move her and the nest, but I don't really know what I'd do with her afterward, except relocate her to my backyard patio until the babies hatch. I would bring her in the house in a spare cage, but I'm not willing to expose my Grey to any diseases/parasites she may have. 

If I were to move the nest (most likely on a weekend night, when there are far less people and cars), I thought about sliding a cardboard under the whole nest, placing it in a box/cage, etc., leaving it open and waiting for her to get back on the nest - and somehow closing her in there. I realize that it may take her awhile to get comfortable enough to get in the cage/box, and I don't want to freak her out and possibly risk her stepping on the eggs in distress. 

So pigeon experts....what would be the best plan here? Any advice would be greatly appreciated  I've attached a picture...

Thanks,

Janis C.


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## NZ Pigeon (Nov 12, 2011)

Jaye said:


> Please post a photo of the location of the nest...it sounds like a really bad place. Do you know who's parking spot it is ?
> 
> I am thinking this might be a situation where you try a nest relocation...I mean, now would be the time to do it because the eggs aren't very old yet.....so if the Parents spook...no harm done, really....


I thought they had hatched, I would not be trying to move 1 day olds.

I would just leave them to it and try cover the nest in a way that gives them some protection but still lets the adult birds out to feed.


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi Janis,
I'll try and get this post moved to it's own thread as you may get missed being on the end of an old thread.

Anyway for now I'll answer on here. I'm surprised the pigeon made a nest in such a bad spot and it's really not ideal for privacy and safety.
The trouble is if you attempt to move it they won't stay with it even if you took it back to your home sadly.
I had one of my tame birds indoors last week as she had laying issues and after she'd laid her eggs I tried to move her back to the loft but they immediately abandoned the eggs and started again.
Being in such a public place it's going to be hard for these birds to go through the whole rearing process in peace. Babies will be at terrible risk from preditors like rats if on the ground.
I know you may not want to but if the eggs are very new I'd personally take them away and remove the nest. It's not being as cruel as it seems the chances of them staying safe is a quite remote and a real worry. What they'll do is go and find another place and start again. Hopefully they'll pick a better spot.
If the eggs have been there for over a week then they'll be starting to develope and then I'd have a problem with removing them.

Also in a public car park they're at risk from the elements of society that hate pigeons and there are many cases of pest controllers being called in to 'deal with' pigeons.
So I'm thinking more of the adult's safety.

If you feel they have any chance of rearing babies in safety then they have to stay put to do so. Even putting a cardboard box around the nest might cause them to abandon them but it's probably the only option to try.

The adults do take turns in sitting and so you would just have to be lucky to spot them both. I'm sure this bird is getting it's break times. It looks very healthy. So as much as it's nice to see them with food nearby it will tend to bring unwanted attention from 'do gooders' and those who like to complain so again best to do as little as possible to save attracting more atention.

If after all this they do hatch then I'd just keep an eye out for them and if you thought they were in any danger you could always rescue them and take them away to hand rear if all else fails!

So this is only my opinion, others may disagree, but I'd remove the nest and encourage them to go somewhere safer. You'll feel terrible I appreciate that but it's going to be a lot better for them.

Let us know how old you think the eggs are.

Thanks for caring about them, so many don't.

Janet


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