Hello from Bangkok!

We appreciate the update, Sam.
This is an interesting beginning to a new chapter of the balcony pigeons.
Please do keep us posted. :Yes:

Okay, we've just seen Maggie get chased away from the food. This is bizarre. Blackfoot's just come in and taken over. We can't understand why Henry won't do anything about it.

Siam Sam wrote:

Okay, we've just seen Maggie get chased away from the food. This is bizarre. Blackfoot's just come in and taken over.

We can't understand why Henry won't do anything about it.

That's interesting. In the aviary, Mikko will chase Malio, Sadie and Dumpling off his area but will cower down to Dolly (his grandson). I can't figure that one out.

That is odd.

We've had to stop putting food out almost completely now. The evil Blackfoot, as she's now known, sticks to Henry like a shadow. Until we put food out, then she chases him away! And Henry just takes it! While still chasing away larger male pigeons. We have no idea why he's so intimidated by her, but there's no point in putting food out for him if he can't get it. And it's sad when he starts looking in the window begging, but there's Blackfoot right behind him. The best we can manage now is little snatches of food for him -- and Maggie -- if Blackfoot's not there, but she usually shows up right away. Must be monitoring us.

She doesn't care if they're on the balcony; she just won't let them near any food.

Sounds like Blackfoot is a, he.

Siam Sam wrote:

We've had to stop putting food out almost completely now. The evil Blackfoot, as she's now known, sticks to Henry like a shadow. Until we put food out, then she chases him away! And Henry just takes it! While still chasing away larger male pigeons. We have no idea why he's so intimidated by her, but there's no point in putting food out for him if he can't get it. And it's sad when he starts looking in the window begging, but there's Blackfoot right behind him.

* The best we can manage now is little snatches of food for him -- and Maggie -- if Blackfoot's not there, but she usually shows up right away. Must be monitoring us.

** She doesn't care if they're on the balcony; she just won't let them near any food.

* I've had to sneak food to one or two on occasion.

** I agree, it is sad.
Maybe one of these days Henry will get hungry enough and let Blackfoot know who the balcony boss really is.

I thought about Blackfoot being a male, but it's such a small pigeon. Smaller than Maggie, who is very small herself.

Tuesday was very bad, as Blackfoot stuck to Henry like tar on your boot. But yesterday it looked like he/she may have been intimidated by some of the other pigeons. Then late in the afternoon, Blackfoot was gone, and the wife was finally able to feed Henry.

This morning (Thursday), no Blackfoot in sight, and Henry has eaten like normal. Chasing the Pretty One away now as I type this.

Arrggh! Blackfoot just arrived. BUT ... the Pretty One is chasing Blackfoot away! Henry chases the Pretty One, and the Pretty One chases Blackfoot -- Pidgee social dynamics are really complicated.

Siam Sam wrote:

I thought about Blackfoot being a male, but it's such a small pigeon. Smaller than Maggie, who is very small herself.

Tuesday was very bad, as Blackfoot stuck to Henry like tar on your boot. But yesterday it looked like he/she may have been intimidated by some of the other pigeons. Then late in the afternoon, Blackfoot was gone, and the wife was finally able to feed Henry.

This morning (Thursday), no Blackfoot in sight, and Henry has eaten like normal. Chasing the Pretty One away now as I type this.

Arrggh! Blackfoot just arrived. BUT ... the Pretty One is chasing Blackfoot away! Henry chases the Pretty One, and the Pretty One chases Blackfoot -- Pidgee social dynamics are really complicated.

I'm dizzy just thinking about it!

Siam Sam wrote:

I thought about Blackfoot being a male, but it's such a small pigeon. Smaller than Maggie, who is very small herself.

Tuesday was very bad, as Blackfoot stuck to Henry like tar on your boot. But yesterday it looked like he/she may have been intimidated by some of the other pigeons. Then late in the afternoon, Blackfoot was gone, and the wife was finally able to feed Henry.

This morning (Thursday), no Blackfoot in sight, and Henry has eaten like normal. Chasing the Pretty One away now as I type this.

Arrggh! Blackfoot just arrived. BUT ... the Pretty One is chasing Blackfoot away!

Henry chases the Pretty One, and the Pretty One chases Blackfoot -- Pidgee social dynamics are really complicated.

That sounds like a episode of the Keystone Cops.

In the last couple of days, Henry and Maggie both seem to have finally grown tired of Blackfoot's nonsense and have fought back, easily chasing Blackfoot away.

That's great.

Siam Sam wrote:

In the last couple of days, Henry and Maggie both seem to have finally grown tired of Blackfoot's nonsense and have fought back, easily chasing Blackfoot away.

Henry and Maggie are continuing to keep Blackfoot away from the food, although one day this week the tables turned again, and Maggie returned to being afraid of Blackfoot. But just that one day. Very odd.

Poor Blackfoot still likes to hang out on the balcony though, especially midday when the other two are gone. Will snooze in the "living room," as we call the big tree pot on the right. The wife still thinks Blackfoot is female; I'm undecided but lean toward female too. It's just such a small and feminine-looking pidgee. And Maggie, who is definitely female, can be aggressive herself sometimes.

A new pidgee appeared on Thursday. Seems very young. Lands awkwardly. We don't think it's Henry and Maggie's squab, as they don't act like parents to it, but it's definitely young. Cute as it creeps up to the food shyly, but then Henry and Maggie chase it away.

And Henry and Maggie have started "doing it" again.

for the update, Sam. I really enjoy reading them.

Poor little young newcomer...sneek him some if when you can.

Isn't it about the time you are going to leave on your trip?

Whoa! We may have seen Henry's squab! Saturday morning here, and a small version of Henry appeared! Along with three or four other pidgees, because I'd just put food out for Henry and Maggie. Henry was ANGRY and chasing everyone away except Maggie, including Little Henry. A lot more black dots on the throat and no black lining along the edges of the white wings, but otherwise like a Mini Me of Henry. Looks funny when it flies.

But I wonder if the time line matches. Without looking back, I think I remember Maggie appearing mid-January. Then they started doing it a week or two later. Hmmm. I don't think this one is young enough. And we don't see any "baby fuzz" residue. But it is definitely young and bears a striking resemblance to Henry. I'll try to get a photo.

Matilda: We fly out to Hanoi four weeks from today. Looking forward to it but sure will miss the pidgees.

We wopuld love a photo...you know how we are...

We're hoping Henry Jr. shows up again today. So far no, but it's only just after 10am here. Could not get a photo yesterday because he wouldn't stay still, due partly to Henry chasing him. He must be related, whether he belongs to Maggie too or not.

We picked up a new type of birdfood yesterday. Has some different grains and little chunks of dried corn. Not whole kernels; looks like they've all been chopped up some. A bit larger seeds and grains than the other stuff. Locally made and no ingredients listed.

They seem to love it, but Henry and Maggie saved the corn for last, picking out all the smaller parts first. I thought pigeons loved corn?

Pigeons are like people. ...some people like brocolli and some don't. Some Pigeons like corn and some don't.

I hope Henry Jr shows up.

Thanks for the update, Sian Sam! I really enjoy reading your pigeons' adventures!
I'm glad Henry and Maggie are fighting for their rights -- it's just a shame they also chase Henry Junior and the other youngsters! Hope you can sneak them a few seeds.
About food, all mine have different likes and dislikes, and Piper doesn't usually eat corn at all. She prefers cake, rolled up into corn-sized balls!

The little Henry-looking pidgee has not appeared again. Showed up only on Saturday, and it's late Monday morning now.

We're having a problem again with too many pigeons. Yesterday and today, we get up to see 6 or 7 waiting outside! Including Henry and Maggie! If there's no food, he's just sort of given up. If there IS food, he spends all his time chasing the others away, with 2 or 3 slipping in when he's off chasing one. Word is spreading among the pidgees once again, and we have no choice but to stop feeding unless only Henry and Maggie are here. But Henry stares in so plaintively. :(

Blackfoot and a very new young one we call the Kid now remain behind after everyone else has given up, and these two just sort of hang out and snooze all day. We really want to accommodate only Henry and Maggie, lest the jig becomes up with the neighbors and building management, but we won't chase them away; we just won't feed them -- we do keep water out there -- and maybe they'll eventually go off to hunt for food somewhere else.

That's really a hard situation and I understand the concern about the neighbors.

The best is to put enough food out so they won't starve but still need to look elsewhere to get enough food....or to gradually decrease the food so they need to look elsewhere.

That really is a hard position to be in, Sam. I know, I've been there.
We want to take care of them all, but can't, so we do the best we can.

Bless you and all your feral feathered friends.

Still trying targeted feeding, but a small group know to keep tabs on us, so even if Henry and/or Maggie are here alone, others show up as soon as we put food out. But we can't cut Henry and Maggie off, so we try to sneak them small lots. But Henry -- and Maggie too, she's a real fighter -- often spend most of the time chasing other pidgees away instead of enjoying their meal.

I mentioned two young ones that we've been calling Henry Jr. and the Kid. Henry Jr. has started showing up again, every day. We're more and more certain they must belong to Henry and Maggie, but as eggs they would almost certainly have had to been laid before Maggie first showed up here on our balcony in mid-January. They don't try to feed off of Henry or Maggie, but Jr. looks so much like Henry. The Kid is just your normal gray pidgee a la Little Pidgee -- or Maggie, but not as dark in the face and neck -- but with a very smooth-looking and iridescent neck area, very feminine-looking. We think Jr. and the Kid must be siblings, with Jr. the younger one. He has a very cute way of flying, like he just recently learned.

And a success! The Kid yesterday (Saturday) ate out of my hand! And out of the wife's hand this morning. I have photos and will post them sometime this weekend. (There's some political unrest happening throughout the city this weekend, and it's not very wide to venture out right now, so I should have time.) Sat inside with my hand stretched out to the balcony and remained motionless. The Kid finally worked up the nerve to come pecking. I tried not to move, so I didn't really look around, but the wife said Henry looked positively shocked that the Kid would do such a thing. Maggie seemed to be thinking about it, and she did come close, but simply could not work up the nerve.

Henry keeps chasing Jr. away aggressively but will chase the Kid only half-heartedly. Wonder why.