Hello from Bangkok!

Just a general update. Ladyboy and Small Pretty One have definitely gotten over whatever troubles they had and are inseparable again. Always flying together around the neighborhood. However, an interesting incident occurred a few days ago when Ladyboy settled in for a rest in the "Living Room" (the right-hand big tree pot), and Small Pretty One jumped up and seemed to rape her! :eek:

Marble Face stopped by once a couple of days ago, first time in a week or two, along with a gray friend. Otherwise that one's gone, as are Little Squealer, Specklehead and Marshmallow. We don't suspect anything untoward, just moved on for whatever reason. Goofy 2 made his second or third appearance that we know of the other day but doesn't seem to be very interested in our place.

Charlie still comes here every day. Mint and her daughter Pinkie. Husband/father Big Red will disappear for days, then turn up again; no telling what he gets up to. Mint now makes full use of Henry's trick of jumping up into the window to ask for food, but it does not work as well for the poor girl. Her timing is often bad, doing it while too many other pigeons are around, and she can be bullied easily, so we often have to say no and close the curtains. Henry can pretty much hold his own, so we almost always feed him when he asks. He's been her over two years now, his daughter Ladyboy over a year. They're in for a surprise in a few months while we're in the US. But we we've been gone weeks before, so maybe they'll stick around.

Hi Sam,

Interesting news about your flock, as always!
I couldn't help feeling sorry for Mint, trying Henry's trick but without the same positive results. I hope she learns to jump up on the window when there aren't so many other pigeons about.
Will you be in the US for a long time? I don't suppose you could get anyone else to give them a bit of food while you're away...?

We try not to neglect Mint too much. She had a good feed this morning.

We'll be gone several weeks. No, I'm afraid the pidgees will have to fend for themselves while we're away. Still a few months from now though.

Just a small update. Not too much new going on. Henry and Geri are being really sweet to each other but don't have that much sex here. When they do, it seems not uncommon for them to switch out who's on top pretty regularly. But we often see them fly up to and down from the balcony directly above us, and we think they may be doing the deed up there mostly. We don't think they have a nest there, as toward dark they still fly off to the right like always. And we've had to cut back on feeding again, as too many pidgees have started showing up again, pushing Henry and Geri out of the way,

Big Red has disappeared again. No idea what he gets up to, but his mate Mint and daughter Pinkie always stick around. There's been a new Baby Red mating with a small gray on our balcony; we're pretty sure he's their son.

Several new ones have come and gone. Always cute to see when they first discover water, and some instinct dictates they must take a bath. There is a new one we call the Little Chewed-Up Guy. He's small like Little Squealer, and his head and neck feathers are such that it always looks like a dog or something's been gnawing on hm.

Maybe Little Chewed-Up Guy is having an unseasonal moult, but missing feathers on the face and neck are often an indication of canker, so it's good that you're keeping an eye on him!

Henry and Geri's switching of mating position is very funny, and it's often been reported by some members. One of them was clearly frustrated, because he'd got a pair of birds he was trying to sex, and their antics made it really difficult to figure out which one was what!

Well, his feathers were not actually missing. They just seemed sort of chewed up. They've since smoothed out, but we know it's him from a rather silverish, or light-gray, area on his lower back.

Have some new photos I'll try to post over New Year's. But for these past few weeks, we've had to implement a drastic cutback on morning feedings. It got to where we'd get up out of bed, look outside, and there were anywhere from 10-20 pigeons out there waiting already, all sitting and staring hopefully at the glass doors! Getting out of hand, and definitely edging away from "low key." Trying to feed just "our gang" while keeping the "outsiders" at bay was no longer feasible. So we've been keeping the curtains closed in the morning. They disappear by early afternoon, and whenever one of "ours" shows up in the afternoon, we'll feed that one. We still keep water out there for them at all times.

It's finally started to work, as the balcony pigeon population has dropped off markedly this week. Unfortunately, many of the regulars have stopped coming too. But Henry, Ladyboy and some of the real inner core are still around. Henry was here just this morning. Big Red keeps coming and going; still don't know where he goes to when he disappears for days. His and Mint's daughter Pinky is about the cutest little bird you ever saw. Still see lots of sex out there. And what we think are Henry and Geri's squabs showed up this month. One is white with black dots all over the face; the other looks just like Geri on top, the exact same markings except no clown face, and snow-white underneath. The latter one seems to be female, and she came around more often than her sibling. But we haven't seen her for a few days, no doubt due to the reduced feedings.

The crow population seems to be growing in the neighborhood too. Big suckers. Rather majestic-looking really. But I wonder if they eat pidgess. The wife saw one eating a rat near her office one day. For our neighborhood, we're seeing at least two couples now.

I can understand how you need to reduce the numbers of visitors to your balcony to avoid negative reactions from people who may see them. All too often, people don't have the heart to do it, and one of the neighbours eventually resorts to poison or causes a lot of problems. It's definitely better this way.
But it's good to know that some of the regulars are still coming by.

I'm not sure about the crow situation, because I don't have them over here. But I believe they might only take the very young or the very sick pigeons. I'll try to find some more information about this.

we have a fair number of crows here
they occasionally grab a pij from the roof opposite
but i'm not sure if they only target the vulnerable individuals
seems strange either way as there is plenty of other food around (we are not in the cleanest part of town)

Thank you for that information, Rattyfied!

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

We cleaned the balcony today (Monday). Henry came along immediately afterward while there was still some little puddles of water around. He jumped up onto the window railing to ask for food like usual, and I poured some out for him on a semi-dry section. But he had to stand in water to eat it. Now get this: He obviously did not care for the situation, kept picking up his feet and twitching them. After a very short while, he left the pile of food, walked back over to the window ... and jumped up again! He was clearly asking for another pile of food in a more amenable spot. So I poured out a second pile in a drier area, and he munched down happily. The wife saw the whole thing and agrees the clear impression was that Henry was bothered by the water and was asking for a different spot. A prima-donna pidgee! But this guy is just plain smart.

The long-time gray couple Boots (female) and Bruiser (male) came by, and they had no qualms about eating that first pile while standing in water.

Thanks for the crow info. Geri's not been seen for maybe a week now, and that visit was itself the first in about a week. We think the cutback in feeding has discouraged her. I hope the neighborhood crows have not eaten her. :( But we think Henry is feeding someone, as it's fairly common for him right now to fly off after eating a bit, then returning shortly, and he always flies off in the direction of where we believe his nest to be.

No photos yet. Our computer crashed last month, and the shop had to replace the C drive. We did not lose much, as we put all the important important stuff -- such as pidgee photos -- on the D drive. But I discovered this past weekend that the program that uploads photo from our camera is missing. It was loaded onto the C drive. So now I have to dig out the software and reinstall it. Coming soon.

Happ New Year to everyone!

Henry is one very clever pigeon!!! And he knows what he wants!

I hope Geri is alright, and that your computer doesn't give you any more grief. We only realise how much we have come to depend on them when they go wrong! It's a relief to know you haven't lost anything irreplaceable when the C drive broke down, and look forward to photo updates when you can reload the photo programme.
A very happy new year to you and your wife too!

The good news is Geri showed up yesterday (Thursday). The bad news is we could not feed her because of all the other pidgees. The situation's a little better this morning, as Henry showed up while there were only one or two others to deal with. But then others showed up while he was eating. He started fighting, I squirted some, but finally had to close the curtains. Looks like afternoons are best now, but we can't always be around then.

The computer is working even better now. We put in more memory. We expect to get a new one sometime this year.

Edit for an update: Just fed both Henry and Geri.

Good news all round!

Found the software. Now I have to load it. Dang, but it takes me forever to get something done. :(

There's a Sammy -- which is a darkish gray with dark speckled pattern, named after the first one that hatched here and we named Sammy -- we call Sticky-Tail Sammy because he has something stuck to his tail feathers. Like other feathers. Been stuck like there for weeks, don't know what he got into to make it like that. Feathers or a bunch of fuzz, stuck to the end of the tail and hanging off. He stayed here a couple of nights ago. Put food out for him to find in the morning. He's been back since but not stayed here again.

This morning, a brand new baby. White with some black speckles. Seems related to a certain Henry. Hmmm. Cute little guy. Very, very tiny. Must have just left the nest. Discovered the water dish and took a bath. What attracts them to the water right off the bat like that? And they seem to stop going for baths so much when they grow older.

Software loaded and will try to get those photos soon. But meanwhile, Sticky-Tail Sammy has slept here the past two nights in a row, making three nights total in the past week. He seems to like us. Still has stuff stuck to his tail. I tried leaving some food out for his breakfast in the morning, but I noticed that what happens is other pigeons show up at the crack of dawn, chase Sammy away and eat the food themselves. So we just make sure to change the water at night, but carefully so as not to frighten him. He's big, but we think still young.

Henry's been HUNGRY today. I think he has babies to feed.

Sticky-Tail Sammy is sleeping here every night now. Just left after a third night in a row, the fourth this week. Little guy seems lonely.

We were out all day Saturday and returned home just after dark. No Sticky-Tail Sammy. So we went about our business and after a while noticed he's out there! He definitely was not before. I'd stuck my head out and looked. Not behind a pot or anything. But then he shows up after dark. The guy above us is away now, and we're wondering if Sammy was on his balcony and flew down when he noticed lights coming from our place. Put a little food out and he ate it.

So it looks like we may have another resident pigeon. Maybe Sammy will find a mate and build a nest. He doesn't seem crippled but has a problem hopping up onto the green concrete border of the balcony. Can't quite seem to get the hang of it and stumbles or bashes his head on the railing above. His body is a pretty big size, but his eyes are still the black ones of the young, they've not turned orange yet.

You mus be right about Sammy having his nest/territory very nearby, where he can see your balcony. I used to have a late-night visitor, that I called Night Flier, that nested on a higher balcony of a nearby building, and he did exactly the same.

I've thought about what you said regarding his sticky tail feathers, but I'm not sure about the cause. Maybe he landed on something sticky, glue-like, and some feathers are matted, and others that should have fallen off remained stuck on. There may be other explanations, including the possibility of damage to his tail and the feathers being broken but still attached, but the 'glue' hypothesis is the most likely.

Almost 10:30pm Sunday night here, and Sticky-Tail Sammy is out there looking all fluffed up and cozy. But I think we'll have to call him Broken-Tail Sammy instead, as a (relatively) close examination of his tail reveals that maybe it's not something stuck to the tail, but rather the very end sort of chewed on or something. Looking a bit ragged all along the edge. Nothing too serious-looking though. Wonder what happened. Makes me think of Big Red's close shave. (Big Red reappeared today after another of his mysterious absences. Tail's still there.) Will have to try and take a photo of Sammy's tail. He flies okay.

It's good that whatever is wrong with Sammy's tail doesn't affect his ability to fly. It's very likely he'll have to wait for the next moulting season to replace those damaged feathers, but he seems to be managing very well!

So I finally got the photos uploaded to the camera. Now I have to sort through and select which ones to upload. Patience, coming soon.

That little Sammy who was staying here at night has disappeared. We hope he's okay but cannot shake the feeling that they tend to start staying here at night if they feel The End Is Near. He seemed okay despite his damaged tail. But he kept hanging around even in the daytime. Gone for about a week now. :(

New babies have been showing up, most of them white to some extent. One who's becoming a regular is the whitest one we've seen so far, white white, pure white, except for a small black speck on its left throat. We've named it Snowflake. May belong to Big Red and Mint.

Henry and Geri are as hungry as ever. We have to turn them down a lot in the morning until the coast is clear, feeding them mainly in the afternoon. Geri showed up hurt a few days ago. May have been in a fight. Limping badly, plus one big wing feather was pulled almost al the way out and had a spot of blood on the base. But she recovered quickly in a day or two and no longer limps. The big feather is still turned backward though.

It's a worry when we don't see the regulars for a few days, especially when they've been looking more dependent and less active. But I hope little Sam is alright somewhere.

Poor Geri, it does sound like she's been in a fight! Do you think it might have been a disagreement with a crow?

Snowflake is a lovely name!
I look forward to seeing the new photos, when you have a chance to upload them!

Thanks. No photos of Snowflake yet but a nice one of Pinkie, who almost looks like her.

From what I can tell, the crows have been keeping to themselves. I suspect Geri just got into a bad fight with a fellow pidgee. She walks fine now, but that big feather is still turned out.

One bad development is the neighbors right below us have taken to cooking out on the balcony in the mornings. Not sure what that's all about, but we'll have to be careful about feeding. I'm sure they're wondering why all the pigeons are hanging around.

Can your neighbours cook on the balcony then? They can't here, people would complain about the smell getting into their houses and attaching itself to the curtains, not to mention the upstairs neighbours' hair and clothing, if they were sitting in their balcony at the time...

Teresa wrote:

Can your neighbours cook on the balcony then? They can't here, people would complain about the smell getting into their houses and attaching itself to the curtains, not to mention the upstairs neighbours' hair and clothing, if they were sitting in their balcony at the time...

We asked the building management, but this is Thailand and they said there's no rule against it. Seems they were getting too many complaints from their cooking in the kitchen stinking up the floor. (Some Thai foods are especially smelly, but this is the first time anyone's had to complain about smell, so it must have been really bad.) We live in a pretty nice place, but this seems to be a family of hillbillies that have moved in -- not to sound elitist -- possibly displaced from the recent flooding and they know the owner of the unit. The cooking is done in the morning when the tropical sun is beating on our side of the balcony; believe me, no one else is out on their balconies at that time, and I can't imagine it's fun for these guys below. We'll just have to be extra careful in the mornings and hope these people don't stay around too long. They're not out there long, but obviously their attention is turned more to outside now. From what I can smell here in our unit, it's not too bad, like a sweet curry, and does not last long, maybe 20-30 minutes once a day mid-morning, but again, they'll be paying more attention to outside, and we're right above them.