The Birthing Station

Over the recent past I’ve filled up one of my balconies with a variety of plants. Besides looking very pretty, the space began attracting some birds and an occasional butterfly. Before long a couple of pigeons scoped out an empty pot that was lying on the side and decided to start a family.

I was initially surprised to see just one egg but then a couple of days later I noticed that a second had been laid. My man-Friday, Rajesh’s presence as well as mine in the balcony aroused a lot of suspicion, but we knew we had to go through the period of building trust. A few days later, they became more comfortable with me (taking pictures) and Rajesh (cleaning). Cleaning became a twice-a-day chore thanks to their capacity of crapping all the time.

One morning, approximately two weeks after the second egg had been laid, I woke up and walked over to the balcony to check on the family, as had become my daily routine. I was delighted to see that between the previous evening and the next morning, I now had 2 appallingly ugly chicks as tenants! Little beige-brown furry creatures, being protected by their parents who became overly suspicious of my presence. Since they saw Rajesh outside on a regular basis, he didn’t seem to bother them any longer.

Over the next few days, we noticed that one of the babies was growing at a much more rapid pace than the other. We were concerned that they weren’t getting the smaller one enough food, so we started keeping some food outside, which would disappear in no time. Not being used to pigeon-tenants, I really wasn’t sure of the protocol, but I was beginning to learn. Cleaning their shit and now feeding them. Since the smaller child was clearly not getting enough due to the aggressive-ness of it’s sibling, Rajesh took the responsibility of opening it's mouth and force-feeding it!

Before long the parents began going out and doing whatever pigeons do during the day, leaving the children behind. After all they now had trustworthy baby sitters living in the same apartment. Rajesh, by now had gone to the next level and was bathing the little ones! I swear it was both hilarious and incredibly sweet at the same time.

Well, the kids grew up in a matter of time and left their childhood home to discover the world. The word about the birthing station though had spread in the pigeon community and before long we had new parents all set to start their family. Some friends inquired if they were the same parents, but this was a completely new couple. And yes I could tell them apart. After all they had lived in my apartment for several weeks. Sukanya, my friend and cooking partner, wanted to plan a baby shower for them, to which I had no comment. She was even starting to come up with the menu. Any excuse to cook. I couldn’t however, for the life of me figure out what gift she would get the parents.

The twins are now here since a couple of weeks. The parents have gotten a lot fatter and the children are growing at a much faster pace than the previous ones, thanks to catered meals by Rajesh.

Sometimes I worry that they’ll never leave because they have it so good here. Their lives will be confined to my balcony and they will miss out on so much. In which case I’ll just have to give them notice and politely ask them to leave. To find a new home, to meet other pigeons their own age, learn new skills and once they’ve met their life-partner, to then come back and have their babies at the birthing station.