Vulnerable Pigeon

Ok MC, I’ll heed your advice about flying and leave it to people who know better and have facilities. It’s pupil is clear/black and the iris is yellow, is that healthy?

It was just to establish the age. The youngsters have black eyes. It seems that you have an adult pigeon there. I'll happily meet you at Streatham Common stn if Sarah can't collect. She usually has a member of the team handy who will help if she's unavailable. I'll check for updates tomorrow and contact you if required. Good luck mate.

Good morning, Monkeycheese, Doggie and anyone else.

I have had a reply from Sarah but she said her transport is out of action at the moment. She also wrote that she could meet me herself at Carshalton station, but advised that MC’s offer to meet me ‘is probably going to be the better option’.

As for the pigeon, it is alive without any signs, of which I can tell, of any deterioration. I have replaced the jar top of water and I have added some peas to the box too. My clumsyness in opening the box gave it the chance to escape the box which it did, so I feel this is an indication of reasonable/relative wellbeing.

I have not rung the RSPCA or RSPB as you guys seem to present workable solutions and show obvious knowhow with this situation. Personally, I am glad that killing it to avoid a worse death is something I won’t need to do, or have done, and that perhaps a future for this bird is viable. So thanks, for all this concern and advice/help.

It is now back in the box with peas and water and hand towel.

Hi Archi, I will meet you outside Streatham Common Station at

4-30pm. You'll know me, I'll have a pet carrier! See you then.

I've just read this through & I must say what a great community this is, everyone working together for this little pigeon, I do so hope it survives. Well done everyone.

Oh that’s just great. Thanks!

I’ll be at Streatham Common sta’ at 4.30.

Final Update.

Well everybody, I’ve just come back from handing over the pigeon to MC who seemed pleased to comment that it appeared in good condition. He also identified it as a wood pigeon and wondered about its mate.

As he was walking back my way from the station I invited him back to the Allotments behind my house where I expected some of the other plot holders, who had also taken an interest, to be present. I felt they might have wanted to meet MC and see the pigeon off in safe hands; all except Mike who mentioned making pigeon pie as a solution to my dilemma yesterday. Unfortunately they had all returned to their homes so MC and I came into a deserted allotments field.

MC however, used the opportunity to scan the area to see if he could spot our rescued pigeon’s mate. He did see one wood pigeon flying away in the distance and some feral pigeons but I wandered what could be done if he did identify a mate. He felt our allotments are a good place for birds to feed with all the fruits and seeds – Ha, don’t we know it! Chat with us and we’ll lament how we have to settle for a proportion of our produce and the rest gets taken by a variety of wildlife. If you bird enthusiasts want to see a real circus of birds in this metropolitan oasis then you should see what happens when all my sunflowers mature. I grow a lot of them every year on my plot and also plant one on the corners of all the other plots so that the central path is and avenue of sunflowers. In the autumn you get a surprising variety and quantity of birds here for the sunflower seeds including flocks of parakeets.

Afterwards I walked to the bus stop with him where we waited for a bit until he felt he would walk on and so we parted company. He’ll get my email details later so that I can be kept informed about its progress.

Anyhow, I’d like to thank you all for helping to make the situation with our pigeon, have a happy ending. Although it’s ‘only’ a pigeon, often hated by so many as an undesirable pest, we can all feel the satisfaction and pleasure of pooling together and doing what our conscience required.

All the best,

Archi.

Well done to all concerned :) Hope the Woodpigeon recovers.

Here's the fellow at the centre of the drama. I took him home and let him out into the SBS to see if he wanted to eat, drink or generally flap about, but he simply hopped back into the pet carrier and looked at me. I took him to the ladies at Pigeon Recovery in Sutton, where I dropped him off at 7pm. They texted me a short while later to say they believe that he is concussed but will recover. I had suspected that it might have been concussion and when I was at Archi's I checked the patio doors for signs of a collision. Hopefully this will be another happy ending. Thanks for helping him Archi. Without your post on the forum, we would not have been able to pool our resources and offer him our help in his time of need.

well done hope he survives

he does seem to have bump on the head

Ray