Les Pigeons
My home office, that also subs as a guest room with a twin bed/trundle bed, has one large window that overlooks one of the courtyards in my apartment complex. What I see when I’m sitting at my computer are the apartments across the way in the first building, and the two foot ‘shelf’ that circumnavigates my apartment. When I’m thinking ‘what should I write about?’, I often look out and watch the Parisian pigeons land, investigate, play with each other, fly away, return. They are always there.
Except they aren’t. For the past five days, there have been no pigeons outside my window. One or two little birds, starlings maybe, flit around, fly more than land on the shelf. I miss the pigeons. I hadn’t really given them a lot of thought before. They aren’t messy. There aren’t hoards of them making a ruckus. There are six or seven every day who entertain me.
Where are they? Is it the cold? Has something happened in this area chasing them away? Pigeons don’t seem to be intimidated by much.
My fellow Substacker, Jenn Bragg, did a little research on pigeons a year ago. Click and you can read what she unearthed. She is not as fond of them as I am. I did like that the French army still raises carrier pigeons for just in case.
SortirAParis, an on-line site for tourists and English speaking exPats poses an interesting question: How come we never see baby pigeons? Where are they? “In the City of Light, there are generally three species of pigeon: the rock pigeon, also known as the passenger pigeon, the wood pigeon and the pigeon. The former is a rock species: it nests in rock faces or holes often built by man. The second is arboreal, nesting in trees. Lastly, the cavicole prefers to nest in tree cavities.
So it’s not easy to come face to face with a pigeon nest. And yet that’s where their young are: they don’t leave the family cradle until they reach adulthood, after three weeks. That’s right, they’re fast-growing! And that’s why pigeons are never seen in the company of their young. Now we know you’ve got one more question on your mind: what does a baby pigeon look like? Find out below!”
According to Ovocontrol, pigeons do not migrate. They are sedentary. “Instead, they remain in their urban or rural habitats year-round. In colder climates, they may search for shelter in warm, protected areas such as building attics, eaves, and other structures to escape the cold.”—Ovocontrol. Paris is definitely a colder climate. However, this fall, though chilly and rainy, hasn’t gone below 48o and that’s in the early mornings.
For more pigeon facts that may cause you to reexamine your attitude towards pigeons, go to. (Click). They are amazing creatures.
But none of this answers my question. Where have MY pigeons gone? If you live in Paris and have any information, please write below in the comments section. If you know about pigeons wherever you live and have some information for me, I’d love your comments.
A bientôt,
Sara
PS A bloggers view on the difference between New York pigeons and Parisian pigeons. Click here
I hope you find out and that they return. We of course have lots of local pigeons and there is a couple , who come back every year to the same nest in one of our oak trees. 😍
What an interesting topic to write on. There are a couple of pigeons who live in the courtyard of my apartment here, and of course the cats love them, causing Beauty to chatter in excitement sometimes. I haven't noticed any difference in their behavior lately. I do think the pigeons in Paris overall are lovely... the pretty shimmering colors around their necks....
Sometimes I sit on the quai at Ile St. Louis on my camping chair (I go there to sit and write) and I watch the pigeons search for food and fight amongst themselves for a crust of bread or whatever is on offer. There's usually an alpha who fends off the younger birds. They peck at the crust of bread, which usually sends it flying; they pursue it to its new place, peck again, and off it goes; etc... until sometimes the crust of bread gets flipped off the edge and into the Seine.
A few late nights ago it was very warm so I took my chair onto the quai, about 10pm. I didn't notice the pigeons then but OH the rats!!!!!! Out in force!