Today dawned in a fuzzy haze. Starlings---who are not darlings in my mind’s eye---basked in the misty golden glow. Would you believe early white settlers of the New World brought starlings over here with them from Europe! That’s mind-boggling to me. Of all birds, why bring messy, homely, annoying starlings? Apparently---so I’ve read---having these birds around was somehow a comfort and counteracted homesickness. Like I said…..mind-boggling!
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Speaking of bothersome birds, when my daughter called from Germany yesterday, she talked about pigeons. On the train trip to Munich, she was dismayed to find that the pigeons are very friendly, flying around in the train stations and winging their way in and out of shops in the towns. Mostly, Daughter didn’t care for the fact that the birds could be found overhead even in areas where people were eating. And, she said, “Mom, a pigeon targeted my head!” I thought she meant she was a recipient of a specialized calling card, but no……a pigeon bumped right into her forehead! She also mentioned that there are rows of nails in place along the tops of signs and other potential pigeon perching places, to discourage the birds from sitting in those areas and leaving remembrances.
I apologize if this shocks anyone, but here in farm country, people often shoot pigeons! It seems every farmstead has a flock of the gray and white birds and ours is no exception. The abode of our pigeon congregation is high up in the loftiest reaches of the silos. They surely must love us and feel comfortable here, for we haven’t made any attempts to thin their population for several years.
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Have a great day! (Gramma Ann……how are you? Last evening, I heard reports about flash flooding happening in your town.)
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14 comments:
Not a big fan of pigeons. :)
Fantastic photos! We aren't too fond of pigeons either, but we get plenty.
Hi, Flea and threecollie,
Whew....good....there's at least two pigeon non-lovers out there!
Apparently Starlings and Pigeons are viewed badly all over the United States. They need a better PR person.
I volunteer at a wetlands preserve where we have on display an Eagle's nest. A pair of bird legs hang between limbs in the nest. The rest of the bird is wedged up in the nest. When we point out the bird legs visitors often utter and "Oh" of pity until we tell them the bird is a Starling. To which they give a huffy "Oh well" and walk on.
I have to admit I do enjoy watching pigeons walking among people on the streets but not everyone does. I also have to admit that while showing out-of-state visitors the beauty of Portland, one guest was targeted by a formerly constipated pigeon. It must have felt better as it flew off. The guest was not impressed.
SUPERB PHOTOS!!! I love the way the low golden light makes the edges glow and shines through the feathers. Even ratty old starlings can look good with the right setting.
I won't tell you what I used to do to the sparrows that tried to nest in the grainary thus soiling grain until the cows wouldn't eat it.
I am fine, thanks for asking. :) And I remember the pigeons and the silo on the farm. The pictures are lovely and I agree with everything Leenie said.
LOL so your Daughter got bonged on the head by a pigeon, what a surprise that must have been!
Hi, Linda,
Thank you for visiting and commenting! Quite a funny pigeon story you have there....except for the person it happened to! And, funny, too, how everyone dislikes starlings. For one thing, the poor things are homely as all get out, and they build messy nests which fall out of the trees in the slightest breeze. Starlings do make interesting sounds, though, I will say that for them.
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Hi, Leenie,
Its OK.....we do what we gotta do sometimes to keep the grain clean and edible.
Thank you for the kind words about the light on the wing.....it happened entirely by luck, though I was up extra early this morning when the sunlight was interesting.
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Hi, Gramma,
The cooing sound that pigeons make is kind of COOL, but that's not enough to make me like 'em much.
Are you sweltering today? This afternoon's heat and humidity is awful! Good for the corn, though!
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Great photos! We both blogged about birds today and swallows too...=) I'm not a big fan of pigeions either. We don't have many around the farm and the ones that do come through are usually banded, so they belong to some person's "homing flock."
Thank you for sending your sweet email on Friday checking up on me..=) It is nice to know that someone out there missed me. =) I have been so busy with work and I'm going to try to do better with my blogging as I really do miss it!
Happy Monday to you. I'm off work today and have spent the day baking.
Hi, Deserthen,
Yes, that's cool we both blogged about swallows today! That same wavelength again.....
Why do people keep "homing flocks" of pigeons? Are they just pets?
You sound really busy! I'm sure summertime is full of 4-H activities. Baking does not sound fun to me at the moment with the heat and humidity we have going on. Hopefully, you have a comfortable, a/c'd kitchen to work in. Have fun!
Somehow I understand the reasoning behind bringing something of comfort with them to their new world, ugly as we find them.
I love the photos here, jeannelle! And I am having so much trouble getting around to all my favorite blogs. There has to be more hours for me in the day, I think.
Hi, Country Girl,
Thanks so much for stopping by! Sweet of you to speak kindly of the starlings.
Goodness.....your blogging has grown by leaps and bounds, and that is wonderful! I certainly understand the difficulty of trying to visit numerous blogs. Do what works and just enjoy your photography and writing!
Beautiful pictures, Jeannelle; especially the bottom one.
We don't shoot our pigeons either, so they're around. But the barn swallows, now I really love to watch them when they are flying - so acrobatic and just plain cool to watch!
Love, love, love the photo with the part of the swallow's wing in it! All are beautiful; such a wonderful, golden glow to them all!
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