The world is on fire, but here's a nice thing.
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By Dec. 10, the beebs are starting to get bigger and you can see how much they've grown in just over a week. We're not interacting with them at all because we don't want them to get accustomed to humans (and also we really would like our balcony back at some point, lol).
Two weeks in, and… yeah, turns out even pigeon parents need their peace, quiet, and a bit of space.
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Two weeks in, and… yeah, turns out even pigeon parents need their peace, quiet, and a bit of space.
By Dec. 17, and these pigeon darlings are fully fledged rowdy little fuckers any time they're getting fed. As you can imagine with four of them sharing this space, there's lots of poop — but we didn't want to risk a human presence going in and inadvertently scaring them.
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By Dec. 17, and these pigeon darlings are fully fledged rowdy little fuckers any time they're getting fed. As you can imagine with four of them sharing this space, there's lots of poop — but we didn't want to risk a human presence going in and inadvertently scaring them.
By Dec. 18, the pigeon parents began leaving the babies on their own for longer, seemingly to test their boundaries. The more time on their own, the more independent they become (we think). Where are the pigeon parents going? We saw them flying to …the neighboring balcony, just patiently waiting!
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By Dec. 18, the pigeon parents began leaving the babies on their own for longer, seemingly to test their boundaries. The more time on their own, the more independent they become (we think). Where are the pigeon parents going? We saw them flying to …the neighboring balcony, just patiently waiting!
All the while, these pigeon babies are getting bigger, their feathers are developing, and they're getting more inquisitive, gaining independence from their parents.
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All the while, these pigeon babies are getting bigger, their feathers are developing, and they're getting more inquisitive, gaining independence from their parents.
I wasn't kidding when we called it Birdcam. Look at this little face! (Yes, this video feed was end-to-end encrypted.)
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I wasn't kidding when we called it Birdcam. Look at this little face! (Yes, this video feed was end-to-end encrypted.)
We're now at Dec. 31 and they're now fledglings, with much of their feathers grown and they will soon leave the nest and fly away. (Any time they get excited, or fed, we can hear them chirping from the other side of the glass; our regular reminder that we are pigeon landlords.)
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We're now at Dec. 31 and they're now fledglings, with much of their feathers grown and they will soon leave the nest and fly away. (Any time they get excited, or fed, we can hear them chirping from the other side of the glass; our regular reminder that we are pigeon landlords.)
And a particularly funny moment when bird meets Birdcam.
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And a particularly funny moment when bird meets Birdcam.
By the first week of January, the fledglings emerged from under our furniture and started exploring our balcony for the first time. They were pretty confident by the looks of it, and their parents were on the neighbor's balcony keeping watch. (Redacted for opsec.)
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By the first week of January, the fledglings emerged from under our furniture and started exploring our balcony for the first time. They were pretty confident by the looks of it, and their parents were on the neighbor's balcony keeping watch. (Redacted for opsec.)
And within a week, they were gone! We saw them flapping on the balcony, increasingly getting lift… sometimes flying into our balcony doors (with less frequency; they learned!) On Jan. 8, the second baby pigeon took off into the world.
Me: 🥲
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And within a week, they were gone! We saw them flapping on the balcony, increasingly getting lift… sometimes flying into our balcony doors (with less frequency; they learned!) On Jan. 8, the second baby pigeon took off into the world.
Me: 🥲
I had no idea that pigeons are so awesome. Sure, they can't build a nest for shit, but clearly they found a place of safety, took care of each other, loved their babies, and did a great job of raising their young. They're smart and resilient. And I'm really proud of them!
Thanks for reading! /FIN.
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And within a week, they were gone! We saw them flapping on the balcony, increasingly getting lift… sometimes flying into our balcony doors (with less frequency; they learned!) On Jan. 8, the second baby pigeon took off into the world.
Me: 🥲
@zackwhittaker The last of my robins needed a little parental encouragement before leaving the nest for the first time
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The world is on fire, but here's a nice thing. A few months ago, a pigeon laid two eggs under our outdoor furniture on our balcony. We put a camera in there to keep an eye. The eggs hatched, survived, grew up, flapped their wings, and left the nest.
Here's what happened & what we learned.@zackwhittaker Wonderful! Thanks for posting.
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I had no idea that pigeons are so awesome. Sure, they can't build a nest for shit, but clearly they found a place of safety, took care of each other, loved their babies, and did a great job of raising their young. They're smart and resilient. And I'm really proud of them!
Thanks for reading! /FIN.
@zackwhittaker Thanks for chronicling this. I have always wondered about pigeons. I’m really surprised that they nest in the winter! I suppose it’s bird downtime then, but I really thought it was a springtime thing for birds. Now I’m more curious about reptile nesting times.
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I had no idea that pigeons are so awesome. Sure, they can't build a nest for shit, but clearly they found a place of safety, took care of each other, loved their babies, and did a great job of raising their young. They're smart and resilient. And I'm really proud of them!
Thanks for reading! /FIN.
@zackwhittaker They are amazing birds. I read a whole book about them that made me a pigeon defender.
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I had no idea that pigeons are so awesome. Sure, they can't build a nest for shit, but clearly they found a place of safety, took care of each other, loved their babies, and did a great job of raising their young. They're smart and resilient. And I'm really proud of them!
Thanks for reading! /FIN.
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I had no idea that pigeons are so awesome. Sure, they can't build a nest for shit, but clearly they found a place of safety, took care of each other, loved their babies, and did a great job of raising their young. They're smart and resilient. And I'm really proud of them!
Thanks for reading! /FIN.
@zackwhittaker Hey hey, good going pigeon family! I remember back in the last century, I had some pigeons nesting in my barn and got a pic of one of the babies and I swear for a short while it was the top hit for "baby pigeon picture" on google. Now it's all links to stock photos or GenAI images of them. A simpler time!
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I had no idea that pigeons are so awesome. Sure, they can't build a nest for shit, but clearly they found a place of safety, took care of each other, loved their babies, and did a great job of raising their young. They're smart and resilient. And I'm really proud of them!
Thanks for reading! /FIN.
@zackwhittaker I love how they communicate.

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The world is on fire, but here's a nice thing. A few months ago, a pigeon laid two eggs under our outdoor furniture on our balcony. We put a camera in there to keep an eye. The eggs hatched, survived, grew up, flapped their wings, and left the nest.
Here's what happened & what we learned.@zackwhittaker must be AI. Birds aren't real.
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I had no idea that pigeons are so awesome. Sure, they can't build a nest for shit, but clearly they found a place of safety, took care of each other, loved their babies, and did a great job of raising their young. They're smart and resilient. And I'm really proud of them!
Thanks for reading! /FIN.
@zackwhittaker Thanks for sharing this wonderful saga! t brings back memories of when barn swallows nested just under a corner of our porch roof.
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I had no idea that pigeons are so awesome. Sure, they can't build a nest for shit, but clearly they found a place of safety, took care of each other, loved their babies, and did a great job of raising their young. They're smart and resilient. And I'm really proud of them!
Thanks for reading! /FIN.
@zackwhittaker pigeons traditionally built their nests on scrapes (ledges/edges of mountains etc). They never really had to make a really involved nest, just as long as the egg didn't roll away.
Nest construction requires time and energy, hey if it works, it works!