25 Mr. Fussy Feathers

It wasn't long before I noticed the different traits of each of my pigeon buddies. This is a story about Mr. Fussy Feathers which I think you'll find cute. I certainly did.

While cleaning out the Pigeon Pavilion, I became aware of a feeding spot with only white seeds left behind. I thought nothing about it at first but it happened again the next day! My curiosity peaked, so I started observing the birds in earnest.

Someone's Not Eating The White Seeds

It was quite a surprise to find out who the culprit was - Whitey, whom I now sometimes refer to as 'Mr. Fussy Feathers'!

Hello, There. Are You Talking About Me?

The rest of my pigeon buddies peck all the seeds up but Whitey takes his time to avoid eating the white ones. It's so funny to watch that I wonder what goes on in that little brain of his? Is the seed too bland for his palate? Does he not like the texture? Is it the colour? And so forth.

Mr. Fussy Feathers Picking The White Seeds Out

Mr. Fussy Feathers has a best friend. His name is Tiny. They are squabbling besties. Full of mischief when together, sad and lonely when away from one another.

Tiny was a little upset with Mr. Fussy Feathers the other day. You see, it was Tiny's turn at the plant container which had their favourite plant. I have no idea what plant this is. It popped out one day and I let it grow because I figured it would be interesting to see what my pigeons ate in other places, assuming this was a seed that had gotten stuck on their feet and fell loose here, on this very soil that used to be my Pak Choy corner.

From the video, you can see that they had a bit of a scuffle. Tiny sat right down after that, looking really mad at Whitey.

Tiny Is Upset With Whitey

I hope you enjoyed reading this post about my finicky bird. Wait 'til you read about the rest. They are always up to something!

18 Pigeon Tales : Sweet Home Kuala Lumpur

It's been sometime since I last blogged about my pigeon buddies. Lots of things have happened in between as Hubs and I got to know them better.

They are each unique in their own funny way, coming and going as they please. Some disappearing for long periods like Benj, whom we suspect is tied with tending her squabs and a new nesting home!

Pigeons Of Kuala Lumpur

Anyway, we decided to get a bigger plant container to give our pigeons more space. Coincidentally, Sungai Buloh Nursery Lot 54 was having a 'Moving Out  Sale' so I said, "Let's go! " We forked out RM80 more or less for sand and planter box. Now, we have a proper spot where we can put lots of seed and water.

Pigeon Play Area

When I say pigeon's' , it's really just two or three of the same guys visiting each day. My balcony is like their vacation spot. I enjoy watching them. So much better than watching the idiot box - must be an old age thing.

My Name Is Tiny. I Love This Place.

It wasn't long before Hubs and I started contemplating about a dovecote. I scoured the internet for ideas. Hubs put my suggestions down on paper along with measurements, a drawing was made and construction began soon after! The side doors were something I wanted to make it easy for me to clean out any mess they make.

Left: Drawing Of A Pigeon House
Right: Pigeon House Construction

Before long, we were huffing and puffing to lift the bird house into place. I think it's a great addition to my balcony garden!

Pigeon House

It's a nice feeling to see them having fun jumping up and down, in and out of the little house. You know what's surprising? They don't poop a lot so it's been pretty clean thus far. We're not expecting our pigeon buddies to live in the house of course, but if they do, we'd be as happy.

To my pigeons, I say - Whatever floats your boat, buddy!

18 Pigeon Tales : Benji's Shenanigans

So cute that I look forward to it! Benji is one of the most adventurous pigeons I know. Remember my previous post on her varied choice of food? I believe she's kind of a foodie, in the bird kingdom of course.

Sometimes she pops in just to hang out, roaming my little green space for close to an hour before flying off again. I had no idea how territorial Benji was until another pigeon tried to land on the ledge. It was so surprising to see my cute buddy flapping her wings with mighty force to shoo the other bird away. The stranger, possibly a younger pigeon, was spooked and it looked like I'm destined to care for two pigeons and no more, that is Benji and Gaston. But inside me was a hope that the little guy will come back. And he did, but cautiously, avoiding the usual time my funny bird would be there.

This is a video of Benji checking out my Pak Choy greens. Yep, she took a bite and threw it away. She also stomped on the 2-week old vegetable. From the internet, I learned that pigeons do eat young leafy greens. No wonder the older plant was left untouched. Luckily, my poor plant survived the ordeal. In fact, it is ready for harvest today. Benji hopped on to the next pot and proceeded to eat my succulents. See? Foodie. She also regularly nibbles on my rosemary plant after each meal of seeds.

More recently, I saw Benji walking up and down my balcony in search of something. She finally settled on my orchid plant which had purple blooms and started tugging on a long root. She succeeded and flew away with it. It was a joy to see but I now had doubts about Benji's gender. You see, I had read somewhere that male pigeons gathered nesting material for the female. Benji was clearly looking for 'stuff' to build a nest! Well, until I know for sure, I will still refer to Benji as a 'her' .

I don't talk much about the other two pigeons who visit me because they're extremely neat and well-behaved as opposed to Benji. They clean up every seed that is put out there, leave nothing behind and fly off. This does not mean that they are not adorable. They are, and have their own quirks too. Benji, on the other hand, is always up to mischief. She eats, she daydreams ..yes, she does. She takes several short breaks to appreciate the sky whilst eating - which is why she takes a...g....e......s to finish her meal.

Benji's Planter Box and The Mess She Makes After Eating

For the past few days, Benji has been behaving jealously. It's funny, I know but I think Benji suspects that I've been feeding the little stranger behind her back. I've put out more food than usual, and in three different places. Benji goes to her usual spot in the plant container to eat the seeds I have placed there for her. After getting her fill, she pops out, heads to the other corner and starts swishing away the rest of the seeds on the floor in some sort of cute rampage. Yep, she created a big mess on purpose! For four days straight!

I never imagined a day that I would be enamoured by pigeons. Cats, maybe. Dogs, maybe. Not pigeons. It always seemed that they were a flock of characterless birds that I would never be able to tell apart. How wrong I was!

A packet of bird seeds costs between RM6 to RM9 and it lasted two months for me. Just to give you an idea how much I'm spending on my two, now three bird buddies.

Sunset

I hope you enjoyed reading about my naughty bird. 😉 To end, I leave you with a picture of a beautiful sunset taken from my balcony and wish you a lovely week ahead.

18 My New Buddies - The Pigeons

Never in my life did I foresee a time that I would be friends with a couple of pigeons.

On and off, I'd see birds visiting my little garden in the balcony. A loud chirp alerts me of their presence. Hubs and I decided that we should leave some food around for them. We started out with sunflower seeds. No success there. I was saddened but determined so I kept doing it.

This pigeon thing all started about a month ago after Hubs took me to a pet store in Taman Tun to see a talking Mynah bird. It had sparked something in us. Next thing I knew, we were walking to our car with a bag of premium bird seeds in hand.

Bird Food

I stopped putting sunflower seeds and started serving the newly purchased gourmet bird seeds. Nothing happened for three weeks until I saw it one evening - a pigeon eating the seeds. Peck, peck, peck, peck! A surge of happiness engulfed me. I was gushing all about it to hubs. Hubs was saying that it'll be bringing its buddies over soon.

His words came true as three flew in the next morning. I was thrilled! "Buddies!  " I thought to myself.

During the following days, I observed that two pigeons would faithfully pop in between 8am-9am. Just the two. I know that they're the same guys because one of them has feathers sticking out weirdly from the back of its neck - a bad hair day kind of thing. I wondered what happened to the third bird. It never came back.

These pics were taken behind a glass door because they fly away the moment they hear me opening it. Funnily, they don't mind it too much if I sit close to the glass to watch them eat as long as I don't move too much.

Pigeons, The City Dove

This Is Gaston

Today, I started leaving a bowl of water and chopped lettuce (this, after seeing Benji peck on the leaves of my chrysanthemum plant) in addition to the seeds. Gaston gave the lettuce a miss after analysing it from the edge of the container, bobbing his head here and there, probably going, " Veggies. Ugh! ". Benji tossed some out and swished it around with its beak.

I think the lettuce is a no go but I'll try again tomorrow for the sake of a balanced diet. I'm getting too involved, I know.

The water was a great idea. Both pigeons drank it.

At 4PM, as I type this, my two amigos popped in again. I am surprised. They took a sip of water. Benji headed to my mint plant and started pecking at it. It looks like Benji's with me on the balanced diet thing. Gaston, on the other hand, loves strutting his stuff on our balcony. He'd be bobbing his head, chest out and in between, rub his head against his wings. Show off!

First pics of Benji and the other birds who visit me.

Top-Left to Right : Benji , Javan Myna
Bottom Left to Right : A Small Brown Bird, Benji

Would you take a common pigeon for a pet? I didn't think I would but now I look forward to seeing and spoiling them daily. Haha that.