the wild pigeons of Salisbury beach part 42

I am reading the book, "Diary of a Pigeon Watcher" by Doris Schwerin (published in 1976.)

It is an autobiographical diary of a local Jewish lady analyzing and watching various pigeon 'families" outside her window as she undergoes breast cancer treatment. She makes comparisons of the daily, almost cruel, survival skills these pigeons endure by paralleling similarities to her Jewish parents and grandparents hardships. She talked about two particular baby hatchlings affectionately called "Plucky' and "Brownie" (yes, Brownie!) that lived on a ledge outside her apartment window enduring the worse of weather conditions along with fighting off nasty bully birds.

However, it seems that anyone writing about pigeons ,that I have recently read, appears to be almost apologetic or even embarassed to write about them. They feel the need to justify of why that they are even observing the lowly pigeon. Schwerin writes, "... I shifted my attention from my own mortality to the more mysterious one of another of God's creatures. Of all things, pigeons! Dirty, ubiquitous, lowly pigeons!"

I guess I don't give a flying shit through a rolling donut of what people think of me and my pigeons.

I find them interesting AND of value.

Every place that I go to I observe the pigeons.

It gives me a pulse of what the environment is like.

I found only 20 miles up north that the pigeons in Portsmouth were thinner and their mating dance was lack luster.

The pigeons in Bermuda were greasy and scrawny looking. They seems to like to congregate only at the bus terminals.

The pigeons of Barbados were huge almost chicken-like. No one seemed to notice them. Some of them were quite beautiful, almost regal in their appearance.

In San Francisco the pigeons live amongst "the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill".

Since Craow Dum has been living with us two pigeons have been visiting my back deck walking around, peering in through the french doors and eating bird seed spilled out from the feeders. One day 5-6 pigeons appeared.

Last saturday, my husband was in the upstairs bathroom and peered out the window. He yelled to me to look out on the back deck. There was total of about 50 pigeons congregating on the back deck peering in through the french doors as if they were trying to get a glimpse of a celebrity.

Craow Dum was their "Brad Pitt"

(Although Craow Dum looks more like Marty Feldman with one eye going in each direction with his crooked scrotty messed up beak).

And yes, I do wonder what they are thinking.