Mary Sullivan
A short while ago, I cleaned up my balcony and got it ready to plant tomatoes, peppers, herbs and flowers. Before long, it looked great and I had plants and tiny seedlings ready to grow. But then, I noticed something strange happening...
Whenever I played music, and had my windows open, I would hear pigeons come to my balcony and 'dance' about. Two males would puff up and dance for a lone female. Their mating rituals were interesting to watch, and not unlike some human behaviours. The males strutted about endlessly, struggling to put their heads over each others' necks to prove their superiority for the female. Sometimes she seemed interested, but a lot of the time seemed to just wander the balcony.
A while later, I noted that my pots were being dug up. My seedlings died, as well as my Morning Glory, and the tomato and pepper plants barely held on but managed to survive, probably because I'd bought large plants. I wondered who or what was digging and what they were looking for.
Every morning when I went out to water my plants, and grind my teeth over my dying 'garden,' I would scare off a couple of pigeons. They would fly off to another roof and sit and watch and wait until I returned inside. Later, I would hear their cooing and purring on the balcony.
I love birds but tend to think of pigeons as pests.
I found a lovely surprise on the weekend. I was watering the surviving plants after the pigeons had flown off--I will manage to harvest at least some tomatoes and peppers, but sadly no herbs--and a suspicion made me check out a couple of pots that I'd left empty and had pushed back against the wall. There in one of them lay two pearly, rosy, perfect eggs.
I finished watering and tiptoed back inside, filled with wonder. The following morning, I eased the door open carefully and found only the female there sitting on her eggs. The pot is only half-full of soil, so her head barely peeks over the rim. I managed to water most of the plants before the female flew away, all while I spoke to her softly--my new little friend.
I know I shouldn't encourage pigeons on my balcony, but this little lady is here for the duration. It was a dreadfully hot day yesterday so I put out a small cup of water, along with a tiny bowl of cornmeal. I noticed later that it had been disturbed, so I assume she is eating it.
I can't wait for the chicks to break open their shells. In the city, I often feel cut off from the wonder that is nature and to have this happening on my balcony is a real thrill. I know that by the time these little creatures fly off, the balcony will be a mess with feathers and bird droppings but I can't bring myself to scare the mother away from her eggs. It would be too heart-breaking.
I feel an almost childish excitement about what is happening right outside my window. Have you had any up-close and personal experiences with nature that left you full of wonderment and fascination? Does anyone have any idea what they might have been digging for? I know there are no worms in my plants. How long will I have to wait for the eggs to hatch?
25 comments:
Mary, glad you got this post to load. It's a great one! You are so kind to share your space with the birds. Hope you and your extended "family" have a fun time together.
Thanks, Mary ;-) I find things like this so entertaining.
How fun, Mary! We have many birds out here in the country and often find their nests nearby. It's always a thrill to see those baby birds *g*
Mary, what happened to the daddy bird? I assue he flew the coop along with his rival--men! All that dancing and prancing and now mama has to go it alone :?
About 5 years ago a couple of doves built a nest up under my patio umbrella and every year since they have come back to nest again...I'm not a bird person so I've discouraged them from coming by putting all sorts of things in the ribs of the umbrella....I frankly don't like their mess and cracked eggs on my patio table. I'd rather see a bird from afar.
JFWisherd(at)aol(dot)com
My favorite bird is the hummingbird....we have a lot of them here it seems. I guess Ilike them because they fly away after they've eaten from the feeder. They really are cute little guys.
JWIsley@aol.com
Mary, how sweet! I sympathize completely with your reluctance to disturb the nest. Enjoy your tenants! :-) We have a groundhog who lives at the edge of our woods and about a month ago we noticed three tiny offspring. I defy anyone to find them less than adorable. :-)
Beth, yes, the baby birds are thrilling. When I lived in the country, I loved watching hawks teach their little ones to fly.
Rogenna, it's strange, but there seem to be two daddy birds hanging around, often at the same time!
Love your little nest on your balcony. I have two robins nesting in the pine tree outside the window of my compter room. They sneak in and out of the shelter where two limbs are resting on each other. Cute.
Jackie, I don't think I'd like birds nesting in my patio umbrella, not that close to where I want to eat.
Joye, hummingbirds are little treasures. They are gorgeous and, you're right, they don't leave a mess!
Kathy, groundhog babies must be incredibly cute!
We had an owl fly into our garage and perch on the antenna of my new car. It was early in the evening, and it just sat there watching us watch it. Then it flew into the tree nearby and the neighbor girls came and watched it some more. It was very cool, just hung out and let us admire it before it started its evening hunt. It was gray and about the size of a loaf of homemade bread.
Funny you mentioned this. This morning I discovered something had dug out half the dirt in my large planter. Can't figure out what did it. Usually armadillos dig, but this is a large planter...maybe a possum or a cat? Anywho, I'm not happy with all that dirt out and one of my verbenas died.
We have birds that nest under the eaves of our little butler's door entry. They are swallows and have two egg laying periods. We watch them hatch, grow and eventually it's "take flight" day. The four young birds sit nervously until "whoosh" off they go to soar. It's a big day for them and they sit on the gutter for a good hour or two before they spread their wings. They make a mess, but I like watching nature up close :)
Linda, the robins outside your computer room sound lovely.
Kristina, how fun that an owl visited your garage! I would love to see one up 'close.'
Liz, it's amazing how birds learn to fly. One minute they can't and the next off they go full tilt. It's fabulous to watch. How great that you have them so close to you.
Mary,
I'm so glad you're finding delight in the birds on your balcony, and I'm glad you shared the story with us! We have lots of wildlife in our rural area. The deer can be a nuisance when they eat up my cherished flower garden. But when a doe shows up with her single, twins, or even triplet fawns still in spots, I let them think of my garden as their smorgasborg:-)
I love your nature story.One year we had robins build their nest on the top of our drainpipe just outside our bedroom window. For a few weeks we woke up at 4 in the morning to hungry baby birds. We don't get as many robins now as the ravens,crows and magpies moved into out neighborhood. Give me my robins back as their song is so much better.
When we lived in an apartment in Montreal the squirrels would run up the side of the brick building. I was growing glads in a planter box and had them all tied up. Came home from work one day to dying glads. Realized the squirrels had eaten the bulbs. Sent my cat out to scare them off the balcony but they would just fly off the side onto a lower balcony and scold my poor cat.
Not a good idea to let them nest there. They will come back again and again to raise their babies and the babies will grow up and come back to raise theirs. You neighbors will not be happy after awhile. If you don't have anywhere to move them, I would let them hatch and once the babies are able to fly, somehow block off your balcony from them. My dad raised pigeons for many years. They are very messy. Pigeon eggs hatch in about 17 to 19 days. They mate for life, when one dies they find a new mate. They also share the nest and rear the babies together. They may have been looking for grit in your flower pots. They pick on grit/gravel to help digest their food. The grit helps to grind down the shells for seeds so that the enzymes can get to the whole seed.
Pamela, you get fawns in your garden. How delightful!!! When I lived in the country, I used to be so disappointed that my neighbour was apparently getting deer visiting when I wasn't!
Kaelee, years ago my Australian Shepherd's job was to scare the squirrels away from my backyard because they were eating all the bird seed I was putting out for my cardinals. My young daughter would get so upset and say, "Mum, squirrels have to eat, too!"
Snookie, that is a real concern that I have. I wouldn't have allowed it had I known what was going on, but now that the mother is roosting I won't kick her out. Next year, I'll look for a solution early in the spring.
Thanks for the great information about pigeons!
Snookie, that is a real concern that I have. I wouldn't have allowed it had I known what was going on, but now that the mother is roosting I won't kick her out. Next year, I'll look for a solution early in the spring.
Thanks for the great information about pigeons!
Post a Comment