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Mary the wood pigeon now a lot bigger with most of the yellow fluff gone.

A visit to Mary

A few weeks ago I found Mary, a tiny baby wood pigeon, on the ground next to the carpark at Union Square. I picked her up immediately as she would not have survived there for very long, and she enjoyed our hospitality for one night.

We were all very taken with Mary as she was just the tiniest, cutest, fluffiest thing.

Elizabeth holding Mary
Me holding Mary

If you ever find a baby pigeon never attempt to squirt liquid in their beaks. You could inadvertently fill their lungs with fluid leading to dire consequences. Instead, warm defrosted peas are a good emergency option for amateurs as they are easily swallowed and they also provide some hydration. She was extremely hungry and ate lots!

Me holding Mary and feeding her peas

The next day a volunteer from New Arc Wildlife Rescue picked her up and she’s been getting the best of care there ever since. Today I went to visit her and the transformation is incredible! She’s grown so much in such a short time. She even has a friend.

Mary and her cage-mate much bigger now with very little yellow fluff.

In about a week or so they’ll both move to an outdoor aviary where they can learn to fly and a few weeks after that they’ll be returned to the wild where I hope Mary and her friend will live a long and happy life in the tree-tops.

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Rachel M

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2 responses to “A visit to Mary”

  1. Denise Avatar
    Denise

    My friends from Bridlington phoned the other day and two racing pigeons have (separately) taken roost near them. They tried to persuade the first one down with food so they could catch it and read its tag, but it kept eluding them, and then was joined by another, with a different coloured tag. I think they could have done with your pigeon catching skills. The pigeons seem to have been accepted by other local pigeons, but they are worried about what will happen in the long term, as racing pigeons aren’t used to finding their own food.

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    1. Rachel M Avatar
      Rachel M

      There’s a racing pigeon in the flock where Matilda is. I thought about catching it and trying to contact owners but the pigeon must have chosen to be there otherwise it could just fly home so I decided to leave it be as it was managing just fine.

      Reply

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