Yes….. it’s that time again.
My first release of the year! As the weather has become a little milder I was asked to release twelve birds; nine pigeons, a racing pigeon, a mighty fine fancy pigeon and a wood pigeon.
I always leave the crates on the lawn and let the birds wander out in their own good time. Some can’t go quick enough, while others like to linger for a while.
I love to watch them coming out! This little lot had all sorts of different ailments, from broken wings to broken legs…
They like to have a good old potter about….
then one by one, they take to the skies. This is a nerve wracking time for me as I have to make sure they can all fly properly, and they DID!!!
Seeing them gracing the skies once again is magical!!! I absolutely love it!
So….eleven down and one to go. A tricksy one too….y’see this wood pigeon hasn’t been flying brilliantly in the aviary, so I decided to release it in the courtyard, which is enclosed, making re-catching it a lot easier.
It sat in it’s crate for ages….then suddenly decided to go for it….
It went off beautifully and flew straight over my next door neighbour’s fence and into a tree….I was delighted!
So…..after watching them all for an hour, and happy that all was well, I dusted myself down and texted the manager informing her of the slickness of the entire operation!
It seemed that a good lunch was now called for…. to celebrate….so, I popped a frying pan onto the hob with a little olive oil ….and then heard the most awful hollering outside! Hubs had just gone out and now he was yelling frantically…..so….out I dashed….
only to find him hopping around, in an animated manner, beneath a silver birch tree.
My eyes nervously followed his pointing finger only to see fancy pige stuck in a tangle of branches, about twelve foot up….sighs…
Turns out that poor pige was happily sitting on top of the tree when he was suddenly mobbed by a murder of crows, and ending up falling through the tree with those divils after him!
Oh my…..you should have seen the two of us trying to recapture him! In the end, with the aid of a set of steps and a broom, fancy pige was dislodged and caught. Not a happy bunny AT all!! Irately coo-cooing to himself he was!
So….I popped him back into a carrier and returned, somewhat disgruntled to the kitchen……only to discover that my frying pan was on fire!!!
I quickly covered it with a towel and raced out into the courtyard with it….
just in time to catch Sam galloping after the wood pigeon I had just released, who was NOT flying very well AT all!
In fact, the poor bird was barely an inch ahead of Sam with it’s tail feathers within jaw distance. I hollered at Sam to stop, which fortunately he did, only to spot Annie coming through the gate right in front of the terrified bird!!!
I hysterically herded the dogs in, being careful to avoid the frying pan fire, which had now ignited the towel, creating a merry blaze which was billowing thick yellow smoke throughout the house, and raced to shut the gate, thereby confining the wood pigeon to the courtyard. Then I spent ten minutes playing cat and mouse with the bird until it was safely secured in a carrier again……
At this point I was feeling rather rattled and had gone off the idea of lunch, anyway, I had a fire to put out, windows to open and birds to return to the rescue.
Our friend, the wood pigeon, needs more time to practice flying I think and fancy pige will have to be released somewhere that doesn’t have crows, they clearly targeted him…..maybe they thought he was a predator, being so brown and having fancy leg feathers and all…
What a saga! And I haven’t even included the part where I had to catch a dozen birds flying free in an aviary…
And finally…..
Remember the birds that were brought in together….the high born pigeon, and the little sickly feral one, that he refused to leave????
Well….here they are, still together and now able to celebrate Valentine’s Day with their freedom.
What a dramatic event setting these birds free turned out to be! I am glad that the poor tea towel was the only serious casualty. Most of the birds seem to have regained their freedom and I am sure that has to be something. I hope the fancy pige is able to regain his confidence and will return safely to the wilds soon.
Ten out of twelve is a good result, and having caught the other two had me heaving a huge sigh of relief! Fire’s are so scary aren’t they, I’m glad I came in when I did!!! Poor fancy pige, he shall be released somewhere that doesn’t have crows. Thanks Jennifer.xxx
My goodness! It all started out so peacefully, but we should know by now that things are not so straightforward when it comes to releasing your rescue birds. A roller coaster of a situation and thankfully it ended well for the birds and for you. Hope you’re having a relaxing Sunday. (I got your comment to say you couldn’t read my latest post which is odd as it’s there when I click on to my own blog. I haven’t posted anything new – the last was ten days ago). Take care 🙂
Releasing birds can throw up some unusual situations, but I’ve never known the crows to attack, that was a first for sure so a good lesson for me….no more brown pigeons shall be released here.
Yes, alls well ends well, thank goodness.
How odd you not posting anything new……still….no probs with the scavengers hunt. Thanks Linda.xxx
Eeek. What trouble did they cause. Fancy pige must have felt a bit out of the frying pan and into the fire himself.. Hope he recovers from the ordeal.
Hahahaha….I love that! Yes, poor old fancy pige eh, he did look somewhat shaken but has now settled down at the rescue for a little more tlc. Thanks Jess.xxx
Wow! What an exciting day you’ve had – never a dull moment. I’m so glad that you got them all sorted out in the end (and extinguished the fire!). Love the photo of the 2 ‘love birds’ at the end. I’m sending you wishes for a slightly less eventful Sunday! x
I was rather relieved to have caught the birds once more and extinguished the fire….it was lovely seeing the others released though, you can’t beat giving a bird it’s freedom. I was so pleased to see the love birds staying together, that was a marvelous story. Thanks Veggie mummy.xxx
You and your animals! There is never a dull moment in the Snowbird household. Murders of crows threatening your pigeon and frying pans fires, I couldn’t t take the excitement. But it is fun to read about it. Another fun post.
Lol…..y’know what they say….never work with kids or animals!!! Animals have a habit of unexpected behaviour….I couldn’t take the excitement either to be honest, fires rattle my cage something shocking and catching birds is an artform…..one I haven’t quite mastered to perfection yet! Thanks Chloris.xxx
I suppose every job has its good parts and bad parts, and the reward gives us consolation for the difficult. But this post gave us all a taste of the sublime, and I’m grateful to you for being able to take part in such joy. My heart is still dancing. xxx
Yes, there are always ups and downs aren’t there and releasing so many birds at once can be problematic but we like them to stay in their groups. I’m so glad you enjoyed taking part, seeing birds flying free again is an incredible experience, one of those birds had actually been shot and had almost died so seeing that outcome was rather special. How lovely to hear that your heart was dancing…..mine was too! Thanks Shimon.xxx
Your life is always full of surprises! What a chaotic scene! Here’s hoping your weekend is less flammable and much calmer. 🙂
Lol….thanks Casa….I must say the surprises endlessly surprise me too, I’m an optimist and always expect everything to go perfectly! The rest of the week has been calmness personified!xxx
You paint such a wonderfully vivid picture with your words….the thought of you running through garden with pan on fire, dogs running wild, frightened pigeons and of course hubs…..is actually wonderfully funny….and I can only say that because it all ended OK.
Wow, you do such wonderful work…and I am quite sure that when you enter those pearly gates, thousands of animals will be waiting there to re ward you:):)
Have a wonderful evening and weekend ahead….Janet. xxxx
Thanks Janet, hubs constantly refers to me as a drama queen….but on this occasion I have actually understated the darn fire!!! You have caught the ambience brilliantly….hahahaha….and yes, even I’m laughing now, all’s well ends well eh?
Ahhhh….how I would like to meet some of my old animal friends again one day….xxx
Oh, Dina! Such excitement! And all at once, as always. I loved the photos, just glorious work! So happy that, with all the close calls, nothing truly awful occurred. I can imagine the anxiety of releasing so many birds at once. How great that your husband was there to help when all the madness kicked in. I do hope an eventual lunch and some liquid refreshment was eventually enjoyed. 🙂 Thank you for a wonderful post! Peace and freedom to all, whenever they’re ready. 🙂
It’s always the case isn’t it….everything happening at once! It is quite stressful when it comes to releasing birds, we try to keep them in their groups so they can start out together but when it comes to them all going at once I feel like I need ten pairs of eyes to keep tabs on them all.
It was lucky that hubs went out into the front at that moment and thank goodness fancy pige was caught without injury. Lol…..I did indulge later that evening…..just to soothe the nerves you understand…. Thanks so much Kitty.xxx
Wow! I love those pigeon pictures…especially the one taken ‘in flight’ – fourth one down! Superb ‘Capture’…pardon the expression. These are marvelous pictures D!
What a dreaful experience…that ‘chip pan on fire’. Must have been scary.
Spring is certainly in the air…what with birds being set free and all that….Hasten Spring! Hugs! xxx
Thanks Bushka, my camera is certainly making a difference, I think I may go for a telephoto lens next. Sighs….yes, fires are rather scary aren’t they, always seeming more dramatic than they are…..I’m glad I caught it before it could spread! Hugs to you too.xxx
What a good story for a screenplay 😀
I did see it all in my mind, since you wonderfull described… and I was ansious ’cause of the frying pan! Well, it happened with me too… since I always try to do a couple things at a time.
The fancy pigeon looks really glamour! No wonder that the crows chased him… they were surely jalous! I never saw a wood pigeon before… I guess here we only have a lot of the normal ones. I love to give them some bread crumbs when in spring I start to have my lunch in the park nereby where I work. Some times I bring along the seeds, which are for sure better for birds!
Hope you’re well… with that lot of work awaiting you for spring time.
My strongest hugs to you… love 🙂 claudine
Lol…..I’m glad you could see the whole shambolic scene unfolding! I’m glad it’s not just me!!!
Fancy pige really is a beauty, he has lovely feathered legs, he is safe and secure at the rescue once again and shall be released somewhere without crows…..fingers crossed for him!
What a lovely picture you paint, sitting in the park feeding the birds…..thanks Claudine.xxx
Love the picture of the one bird flying in a clear blue sky – wonderful picture! Sure you could win a prize for that… the bird so clear and everything.
Crikey – very alarming to have a frying pan fire and ravening dogs with snapping jaws at the end of a pigeon’s tail feather…. and murders of crows mobbing the place – all started so nicely then all went rather wild you poor love! Still everything ok in the end. Must be a day for a fire – a paper towel caught alight in a candle today and went up in a great blaze and I had to stamp on it on the floor – was all very surprising!
Hope you have a restful evening after that lot!! A glass of something nice and some chocolate I think…… xxxx
Why thank you Arose….I haven’t quite figured out how to get distance shots with my new camera so I was rather pleased to get a pic of the bird on it’s way to freedom….
Hahahahaha…..what are we like eh? The things that happen to us…..I found my situation to be very surprising too….one minute all was well, the next all hell was breaking loose!
I did enjoy a tipple that evening!!! xxx
Another roller-coaster post, which thankfully ended okay. The rule is never, ever leave a frying pan that’s being used unattended. I worked for a fire protection and life safety systems company for years and have seen some quite tragic consequences as a result of such a fire.
On a happier note good to see that most of the birds were okay. Take care. xx
I agree about never leaving a frying pan unattended, normally I’m obsessed with safety….I think hubs yells threw me and then I totally forgot all about it. The whole kitchen could have been on fire! I have learnt my lesson!!!
I suppose ten out of twelve wasn’t too bad. Thanks Flighty.xxx
Goodness, it’s all go at your house. All’s well that ends well though, how lovely to see the two pigeons still together, the perfect tale for Valentine’s Day.
I did breathe a sigh of relief when peace was restored I must say! I did enjoy seeing the pigeons still together and finally free, that made it all worthwhile. Thanks Jo.xxx
Well, that was an unusual blog post! So exciting. I hope you get the pigeons sorted in the end and you finally got some lunch!
It was good to recapture those birds and have then safe and sound in the rescue once again, yes, it was all a little unexpected…..and I did finally get to eat, although it was more tea-time by then. Thanks Jenny.xxx
What excitement not all good eh? Will the fancy pigeon survive in the wild, Also I hope the neighbours didn’t have any prize cabbages,
It was definitely the wrong sort of excitement! I do hope fancy pige can survive in the wild, he came in with a ring on so must have been flying free, he is to be released in an inner city area where there are no crows…
Lol….fortunately my neighbours don’t grow veg, just bits and bobs in greenhouses. Thanks Sue.xxx
What a chain of events!! Good that it all worked out in the end and you caught the ‘flaming’ pan in time before more damage was done! Suzy x
Thanks Suzy….I am glad I returned to the kitchen before the fire took hold!xxx
Oh my word – what a palaver! You would think it would be a simple job releasing pigeons wouldn’t you. I can just picture the scene – you running about with a frying pan ablaze like a mad woman. There’s never a dull moment at your place that’s for sure. Glad everything worked out in the end though – it could have been a lot worse.
A bloomin’ palaver indeed, especially as everything appeared to be going so smoothly. I do love releasing birds, but at times it can be fraught with anxiety, especially if they don’t fly well.
Lol….you have the scene spot on, you just need to imagine a lot of hollering too…..
Ah well, all’s well ends well….thanks Elaine.xxx
Goodness, Snowbird! Those birds have had a harrowing time of it, haven’t they? And then you and your poor frying pan fire! There’s a panic that sets in when there’s a fire, I know too well from experience.
I was so surprised when the problems began, I had kept a sharp eye on all the birds and really thought all was well….oh yes, I must agree re fires, they always seem SO dramatic don’t they? This one was a real hum-dinger, especially when the towel burst into flame! Thanks Anne.xxx
“….so, I popped a frying pan onto the hob with a little olive oil … ” I knew that was the start of the unexpected, and I was right… good heavens, at least you know the outcome before you write your blog post, but for the rest of us hanging onto the edge of our seats, it’s eye-poppingly terrifying,.. well, for me anyway. Cuckoo… or coo coo…it was quite the story! So pleased to see that the two pigeons that cared for each other are still together 🙂
Eye-poppingly terrifying….lol….love that!!! I must admit to being all eyeballs myself at the height of the crisis! It’s good to have caught the birds, at least they are safe in the rescue once again, releasing birds can be tricksy at times. It’s lovely to see those pigeons together in the wild again. Thanks Glo.xxx
Sometimes we need a little more preparation before we can be independent. Nice that those two pigeons have each other though.
Yes, hopefully after another few weeks that little wood pigeon will be flying a lot better. It was lovely seeing the love birds finally free. Thanks Jason.xxx