Peggy the pigeon

When Ben and I were walking down to feed the foxes last Tuesday night – yes we’re still feeding foxes – we found a pigeon sitting in the middle of pavement next to a busy road. Pigeons are usually up high on a perch somewhere at night time so this was a clear sign something was wrong. As we approached it the bird panicked and tried to fly off but couldn’t leave the ground and ended up walking in circles. We decided to take it home.

I phoned New Arc the next day but they didn’t have any volunteers able to collect her and I was working so I planned to drive her myself on my day off but have been too busy and Peggy – as she’s now called – is still in our laundry.

I think she’s getting better as she’s able to fly a bit and perches on the side of the container I’ve got for her.

I’m hoping she’ll make a full recovery and we can release her soon as it’s tormenting Victoria who knows there’s a bird on the other side of the laundry door.

I like pigeons. They’re extremely resilient animals that manage to survive in harsh environments all over the world and on very little. They were domesticated by humans thousands of years ago and bred for food and messaging. They are the original text message long before phones were ever invented and during times of war carrier pigeons provided essential communication services for us. In the first world war the British military used over 100,000 pigeons. Now we have largely abandoned them and they live in our cities off whatever crumbs they can find. Whenever I walk into town I carry a bag of sunflower seeds for the pigeons. I suspect Peggy was hit by a car or has some kind of head injury affecting her balance and ability to fly. A head injury can lead to inflammation in the brain which will affect coordination but once the inflammation has subsided she’ll return to normal. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that outcome.