The Story

This summer, I had put a hanging nest for the pigeons moving around and the lady was seriously enjoying this new seat. I never saw the mother move even if I would try to shoo her away. She at first tried resisting while I was cleaning the nearby area but after some time, she understood that I am not going to harm her. After this I always received a friendly look from her. I felt she was thanking me for this small attempt.                                                                         

    

I always used to wonder how people generally identify the gender of birds, but after a bit of research I found that it is common among the female birds to be more aggressive.

Once while I was sipping my morning tea, I saw a bit of restlessness and movements inside the small artificial nest. I tried gazing through and to my utter disbelief she had laid eggs. I was elated and so happy that I almost called everyone in my contact list. Video calling and taking photographs became a regular hourly routine.

I had seen them coming out of the nest and searching for their mother while the mother looked mesmerised. She was always sitting on the top of her kids, probably giving them the heat, they require before they start on their own. She would go for a while, collect food and come back to feed both of them. It was always a treat to watch the love and warmth and the feeling of togetherness between the mother and the squabs. It was around 2 weeks and the squabs started attempting their first step, while the mother looked at them from some distance, clearly observing their small movements which they would trace back after few steps.

I wanted them to stay a little longer & with all the daily cleaning of their shit and the foul smell emanating, I still wish they come back.