DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF PP, A FERAL PIGEON, AND TO PIGEONS & DOVES EVERYWHERE
PP and his lady sneaked onto my second floor apartment balcony in January 1996, staking out a disused plant tub hidden behind a large fan palm for their nest site. First I knew was when, on a bitter cold day, I went out to get a spare pot, prompting PP's swift exit. He left behind him a small feathery thing, the like of which I'd never seen. This later became affectionately known as 'Tatty', for her breast feathers never did grow quite right and always had a look of disarray.
PP soon learned to trust me, even to communicate his needs to me in his own pigeon way. He stayed with me for almost 18 months, outliving one mate, acquiring another and fathering many little PPs. One morning he set out for his regular exercise flight and never returned. I lost a faithful friend, but he left me with an understanding and love of these oft-overlooked birds which I could never have experienced without my 'close encounter of the pigeon kind'.
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