Respect the pigeons! and I mean the REAL birds, not the “slang” term, I hope that title didn’t throw you off lol.

Since I’ve been staying in Toronto with my family, I’ve taken notice of the beauty of this side of the city, and I appreciate it so much more now. On my daily walk, I can’t help but stop and take a pic of nature and the  lovely scenery, before I even think of a taking a selfie. I’ve seen many different types of birds on a daily basis, ducks, seagulls, robins, blue jays, eagles, sparrows and last but not least, the infamous PIGEONS!…..

I forgot about pigeons, because there weren’t any where I used to live, and I’m NOT fond of them, for obvious reasons. There are MANY of them in this area, SO many that I don’t go on the balcony, I avoid them. I find pigeons to be messy, aggressive and a nuisance, plus they’re known to attack humans…..

There’s a handful of pigeons that frequent the balcony that are actually a family, I learned by way of my younger cousin. She told me that the two “thinner” pigeons who stick together, are siblings that grew “fast” from the two laid eggs that were previously in the corner. This surprised me because I didn’t know pigeons grew up so fast. I began observing the pigeons everyday and gained an interest and understanding of their world, but still stayed OFF the balcony. My aunt informed me that there was going to be repairs  being done to the balcony starting in the morning, and the balcony would have to be cleared off. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, didn’t want to go out there, but I finally mustered up the courage to do so. I have to admit, I was genuinely intimidated by of the gangs of pigeons lined up above me, glaring at me. I noticed a fluffier, chubbier, prettier, looking pigeon sitting in the corner of the balcony. Her eyes didn’t leave me as I cautiously moved around. A few pigeons flew fast and swiftly by, startling me, I yelped out trying not to be loud, feeling silly lol. I was relieved as I slowly dragged the last bag, that was near the staring pigeon. I was pleasantly surprised when she suddenly stepped up, revealing two small eggs, it was protecting it’s babies! That’s why it was sitting there, staring directly at me the whole time,  I had a feeling…..

I successfully completed the task, and the pigeons did not trouble me,  I understood they were simply protecting their turf, and I did my best to show them that I respected their turf…..I shared my pigeon story with my cousin, and told her that I conquered my fear and “faced the pigeons”, she laughed. She explained that the “chubby” pigeon sitting on the eggs was indeed a male, and the father protects the eggs too, which I didn’t know. That was the most fascinating lesson I learned…Plus I gained a new found respect for most notoriously “hated” birds in the city.

Love&Respect,

~Dawn Lovely

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