Pigeons

[grrgoyl]

We've lived in this condo for 3 years now and this is the first year we've been plagued by pigeons. They've taken a liking to the space above the rafters on our balcony. I wasn't too thrilled at this prospect, imagining a summer spent cleaning massive droppings off of everything we keep out there, so I've been doing my damndest to make them feel unwelcome. Nothing more relaxing after an 8-hour day of inventory than spending a few hours getting up and down with a baseball bat trying to shoosh them away. I yelled at them to go stay on Tracey's (unused) balcony, but like all woodland creatures they can sense true evil.

So today I heard them out there and ventured out with my bat. They're getting ballsier (no pun intended) so I have to actually poke at the bottom of the shelf up there to scare them now. I looked down after poking and noticed some egg shells on the ground. Oh, that isn't good, I thought. I pointed them out to Tery. She watched as I pulled down a planter full of dirt that the birds seemed especially fond of, and I almost had a heart attack when I saw I was holding this:



I'm surprised I didn't drop them, so absolutely unexpected was this discovery. I was surprised the teens didn't make much of a move to attack me, even more surprised the mother gave up her territory so easily. Surprised in the first place that mom deemed this a safe haven with such a cranky human armed with a bat living here. Tery put them back up in the rafters, assuring me as soon as they could fly then the whole damn family would be out of our hair. I hope she's right and that this isn't going to become a yearly ritual.

I started looking on Google for confirmation that they only produce one clutch a year. Lord knows why. It's not as if I can print out a page and show it to them, "Now see here, this website says..." if they decide to breed again.

I wonder if our ferrets (both rescues) have been advertising in the classifieds that we're some kind of animal sanctuary?

Comments

[aurora-z.livejournal.com]

*squish!*

[grrgoyl.livejournal.com]

very nice.

[ms-hecubus.livejournal.com]

I suppose they have to be tenacious to survive in the urban jungle. If they turned tail every time they encountered a cranky human they'd probably be endangered.

[grrgoyl.livejournal.com]

This is true, but you'd think a balcony where there is zero human traffic would be a more obvious choice.

[ms-hecubus.livejournal.com]

Like you said, the other balcony is tainted with the stench of evil. :)