Doves & Pigeons

Thumbnail image for The Flying Wallendas … I Mean, Pijendas

The Flying Wallendas … I Mean, Pijendas

January 26, 2012 Birds

I’m a sucker for pigeons. I loved them long before Hugh and I rescued a couple of lost racing pigeons, and I continue to love them long after. People who’ve never observed pigeons will marvel when they first notice how pigeons out-maneuver Peregrines in harrowing chases. These birds, whose ancestors sprang from the cliffs alongside [...]

[read the full post ...]
Thumbnail image for Pigeon Over Seattle

Pigeon Over Seattle

October 6, 2010 Doves & Pigeons

This pigeon did aerial turns and hovers that rivaled a raptor’s. I captured a few frames as she took off from Pike Place Market and hovered for a few seconds against Seattle’s skyline. Thanks to SkeletalMess on Flickr for the Creative Commons texture “Tainted” which I used in the above rendering. Related Pigeon Posts: Lancelot-Guinevere: [...]

[read the full post ...]
Thumbnail image for Lancelot-Guinevere: The Case of the Castle Pigeon

Lancelot-Guinevere: The Case of the Castle Pigeon

July 20, 2010 Bay Area Faves

Lancelot (no, Guinevere) — lost himself (no, herself) — along the coast of Scotland, where Picts and Druids and Earls and Scots laid claim to the medieval stones of her landing. Just north of these stones lie the crags and cliffs that offer sanctuary for pelagic birds, the calls of whom may have drawn her [...]

[read the full post ...]

Deterrent

March 20, 2010 Doves & Pigeons

Pigeons just know. How many times do you see them perched between bird spikes or, as in this case, within talon’s reach of a fake owl? I appreciate the cleverness that is “pigeon” and when I saw this juxtaposition, I had to freeze-frame it. Owls can be effective for a time . . . or [...]

[read the full post ...]

Noah the Pigeon

March 1, 2010 Doves & Pigeons

When you work in any facet of animal rescue, you hear stories. Often, the worst stories — one-act plays with bad endings. You wonder why on earth this storyteller decided you were the person who needed to hear it. I’ve learned that if an anecdote opens with, “Have I got a raccoon story for you [...]

[read the full post ...]

Pigeon Pilates

February 10, 2010 Doves & Pigeons

Or so I call it . . . also fondly known as Pigeon Tai Chi . . . or simply, the Pigeon Stretch. It’s that endearing things birds do — wild and domestic both — leg extended under outstretched wing, releasing tension from their hard-working limbs. I always appreciate a wild-bird stretch when I’m out [...]

[read the full post ...]

Videos: Changing Our Cultural Views of Pigeons

January 8, 2010 Doves & Pigeons

This video is about people who’ve cared enough for pigeons to effect positive, cultural change on their behalf. There are humane ways for humans to cohabit with urban pigeons.

[read the full post ...]

How to Detangle a Pigeon

December 10, 2009 Doves & Pigeons

When you’re helping out a pigeon, the reaction from people passing by tends to be polarized: “how sweet” or “disgusting.” Pigeons have such a lousy rap, some people are aghast that anyone would think to rescue one of these birds, let alone touch it.

[read the full post ...]

[read the full post ...]

Pigeon Masters of Culinary Adaptation

November 13, 2009 Doves & Pigeons

Refined carbs aren’t any better for pigeons than they are for us. But urban birds, used to groveling for handouts, will take what they can get. This mottled pigeon person stumbled upon a bounty in Mission Bay. We could hear a gang of gulls on the approach so the pigeon was in his own Amazing [...]

[read the full post ...]

Learning From a Racing Pigeon

August 28, 2009 Doves & Pigeons

I think the pigeon people are trying to tell me something. Late last year, I took a rambunctious fledgling pigeon to a nearby hospital. In April, I drove two [very] baby pigeons to the same hospital. I’m always snapping pigeon photos even when other photographers sweep their lenses right over the pigeon landscape. So, it [...]

Related Posts with Thumbnails

[read the full post ...]