Novel Times, Novel Measures

This morning I finally caught the urban jungle feeding frenzy action I’ve been waiting for:

Obviously these chicks are hungry. You would be too if you were stuck on a third floor ledge of an apartment building. Thankfully Momma & Poppa seem to be doing a great job providing. Observe the familial resemblance in this proud family portrait:

And so, we have seen tonight that the strength of biological bonds can overcome even the chaos of the urban jungle that threatens to tear wildlife families apart. I’m Marty Stoufer. Until next time, enjoy OUR WILD URBAN AMERICA.

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Filed under: Nature

Kids grow up so fast these days. Hard to believe that just a few days ago these little tikes were merely blobs of yellow fur:

And another closeup. Look at that crazy black beak!

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Filed under: Nature

Babies! Despite increasing adversity from all sides, rebel pigeons have given birth to a new hope for pigeon-kind — twins. To keep them safe from the sinister Empire, the babies have been separated and hidden on planets far flung across the galaxy. The evil lord Darth Predator, obsessed with finding young SkyPigeon, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space…

…wait a second…this isn’t Star Wars! This is the real world. Right. Sorry ’bout that. I’ve got Star Wars on the brain after my second viewing of episode III. I also make myself laugh. ANYWAY, yes, we have babies!!! Without further adieu, here are my newest neighbors:

It looks like the babies were born with a modicum of feathers, but their eyes still appear to be shut. I thought a digitally-enhanced photo might be appropriate here:

Of course, we would have not babies without the Momma and Poppa. I’ve spoken to them, they are extremely proud and have already started a college fund for the newborns. Here’s one now:

What’s next? Only time will tell. While I can’t say how long the kiddies will stick around, I can guarantee that it is only a matter of time before they start making a ruckus. And this ruckus will put me back at square one. Don’t get my wrong, this whole thing is quite wonderous, but I’m already making plans for the impenetrable pigeon barrier. Of course, I’ll wait until our little ones take wing. After that, no mercy!

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Filed under: Nature

As you can see, my pigeon neighbor is maintaining the status quo:

I do have some interesting new information to share, however. I finally dug out my dusty copy of The Birder’s Handbook and read up on our feathered friend the feral pigeon — or Rock Dove — as they are also known. The first big surprise is that both the male and the female share incubation duties. I made (at least) two errant assumptions regarding the bird outside my window: 1) that she was only one bird and 2) that she was a female. I have seen the error in my ways. No longer shall I disparage the hard egg-rearing work of Poppa pigeons everywhere.

Judging from the developmental patterns described in the Handbook, it seems I may also have a partial answer to the baby pigeon question as well as a glimpse of what is to come over the next week or so. After 15-19 days of incubation, the “altricial” Rock Dove offspring — meaning they are born immobile and are fed, in this case by both parents — will hatch and then undergo a fledging period of 25-26 days. Presumably, after this time, the babies will be ready to leave the nest and find their own San Franciscan to infuriate every morning at 6:00 am.

So, it seems as though I’ll be dealing with about a month of baby pigeons in all their baby pigeon glory. I’m not sure if this will be a good or a bad thing, but it should afford plenty of opportunity to snap some shots for the annals of science. Lest you think my research has eliminated all further surprise, I am still unsure as to whether the young will be downy or downless, or if they will be born with their eyes open or closed. Ooooohh, the suspense! Check back for updates — same feral pigeon time, same feral pigeon channel.

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Filed under: Nature

Well, how-dee-doo! Our little Momma has been quite the busy birdy. At some point during last the last two days she popped out another egg!

I’m wondering how she managed to split up the delivery like that. I’d have thought that she would lay them both at the same time, but there was a good two or three days in between there. Keep checkin’ back because now we’ve got twice the test of the eternal baby pigeon question!

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Filed under: Nature