A Tale of Two Pigeons - Week 7 - Grand Finale

Week 7 : 14 Aug - 20 Aug 2006

14 Aug 2006
Feeding frenzies still go on. Parents still fly in with food. Notice how Elvira digs into the parent's beak for food. Carlos watches by.


Food fight! May the strongest bird win...


15 Aug 2006
"Mom look... i can fly!".
Elvira showing off her newly acquired talent and long feathers. They are still not confident of flying. They practice one small flight at a time not lasting for over 2 seconds.


16 Aug 2006
Week 7 and they already look like adults. Notice their feet, claws and their feathers.


See the baby fuzz on Carlos's feathers? Elvira doesnt have any, Carlos might lose them in the next two days.


17 Aug 2006
Standing tall in their new house. Their flight duration has increased a bit. They can flap up to a height of 6 feet and fly back down. This means they could fly to the balcony ledge and see a new whole world from there. (And no. They dont start singing "A whole new world" from Aladdin)


No more baby fuzz.. woohoo!!


Aww.. I love you too, little fella :)


18 Aug 2006
This was the best part. The mom and kiddos were lined up on the balcony. It was interesting to watch the parent give flight lessons to juniors. Mom shoots out instructions and Elvira repeats. Carlos seems disinterested and distracted. He is not paying attention to the class.


After explaining a couple of flight tips and tricks, mom flies over to the neigbour's balcony to give them a demo. Elvira follows, screws up with the landing, panics and returns back to our balcony. She succeeds the second time she tries. After a successful landing, she hops over to the mother and delivers a kiss on her cheek as if telling her.. "I made it mom, I made it!! mwwaahh... i love you!!!"


Carlos on the other side has still not made up his mind. He looks down from the third floor balcony; he is not afraid of heights. He just doesnt remember the take-off instructions, because he wasnt paying attention when mom was giving a demo. After a couple of pondering moments, he decides to take the plunge and surprisingly, he makes it to the other side on the first attempt! They go back and forth, back and forth for a couple of times before they retire for the night.


Carlos tired from all the flying and flapping calls it a day and goes to sleep.

19 Aug 2006
Carlos and Elvira flew away for a couple of hours and came back in the night to sleep. I think it was their day out which included flying lessons, socializing and introduction to other pigeon families, making friends, food hunting and learning to stay away from their predators.


20 Aug 2006
They are gone. They did not return for the night. We felt so lonely once we realized that they were gone for good and we might not see them again. We miss those flappy buggers. They were the center of our attraction for the last 7 weeks and kept us busy and occupied. We let them stay, fed them, gave them cute names, provided them protection and shelter, cleaned up their mess, took pictures, made them a celebrity on this blog, avoided using the a/c as long as they were around.... and now they fly away without a word of thanks. Well, actually Sal said that they came to the big balcony glass door and knocked on it with their beaks and tried to look inside. Maybe they wanted to thank us, i dont know, i wasnt there.

This brings an end to the wonderful learning experience up close and personal. Got some nice pictures. Thank you all for your support, encouragement and nice words; I wouldnt have completed it without you. I hope you enjoyed the series as much as we did.

Though the series has officially concluded, i might post a random picture or two if i see them again. I have a lot of cleaning to do in the balcony.

Adios...