My Pigeon Adventure

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:28:09 PM EDT

I was downtown Dallas waiting for my train ride home. Sitting on a bench enjoying a nice day and sunshine. Headphones on and listening to some tunes. I had my legs crossed at the time when this pigeon decides to use my thigh as a perch. Now this takes me by suprise so I jump!!! Well the damn bird must've gotten startled as well. Cause it started digging its claws into my thigh, and hanging on for dear life, just a flapping its wings. Finally it flys away a few feet.

Not wanting for this now pissed off bird to shit on me, I move. Moving target is good. The stupid bird flies by my feet and is now walking with me likes its my damn dog or something. A few of the people waiting for the train with me are now intrigued by this and is watching what happens closely.

So I stop. This bird now flys onto my right shoulder and perches himself there. This is just great. Now I look like a fucking pirate with a bird on my shoulder, waiting for a train. Anyone ever seen a Filipino pirate before?? I sure have not. Now folks around me are starting to make comments about my new found pet.

Well I gently shoo him away. Which worked for about 2 seconds. The amount of time it took him to fly to my other shoulder. At this point I am getting annoyed and a bit scared the damn bird will shit on my shirt. He never tried to peck my eye out or anything like that. Just sat on my shoulder. Some of the folks around me are now chuckling. So I shoo him away again and start walking toward another bench. The bird flies away.

I shit down and who sits next to me?!?!? The fucking bird!!! There he sat to keep me company, bobbing his head, walking up and down the bench, till I got on the train.

This is just weird. A bird tried to make friends with me. What next???

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:34:57 PM EDT

[#1]

Jeez... maybe the word has gotten out about you being "lonely" when it comes to the opposite sex and the bird was just trying to cheer you up.

Could be reincarnation as well. Anyone you can think of that would come back as a bird?

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:37:03 PM EDT

[#2]

dude you should have used it to pick up chicks...
(follow it back to its nest)

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:37:31 PM EDT

[#3]

Al
I sent that bird. That was a carrier pigeon!
Didnt you get the message?

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:37:53 PM EDT

[#4]

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:37:53 PM EDT

[#5]

The Birdman of DFW.

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:39:06 PM EDT

[#6]

Was it a female bird?
A hot chicky snack?

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:39:23 PM EDT

[#7]

LOL, that's the funniest damn thing I've heard in a while. It would've been better had it not been a pigeon. I like birds, but I hate doves (pigeons), they're just nasty!

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:39:24 PM EDT

[#8]

Did it follow you home?

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:42:18 PM EDT

[#9]

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadows on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted--nevermore!

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:45:47 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Was it a female bird?
A hot chicky snack?

How can you tell??

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:50:23 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Was it a female bird?
A hot chicky snack?

How can you tell??

By the breasts, silly...

...!

Posted: 5/4/2004 4:54:12 PM EDT

[#12]

Kill it and eat it, there good baked with a wine sauce and a bed of rice.

Posted: 5/4/2004 5:02:42 PM EDT

[#13]

Doves and pigeons nasty?

Hah!

I've had them for pets and raised them from almost the day they hatched. I've had two doves that had the freedom to fly around the house and screened in back patio at will. I assure you, they are NOT messy birds if you're dealing with just one or two of them at once. They're CONSIDERABLY cleaner and less messy than ANY comparably sized bird in the parrot family, and much more mild in temperament as well. A dove or pigeon couldn't hurt you if it tried really hard, but parrots....well, I have reservations about messing with birds that have BOLT CUTTERS on their faces.

Anyone who believes that doves and pigeons are messy birds doesn't know what he's talking about. The only reason they're messy is because you usually find so many pigeons at once. A comparably sized flock of parrots or many other birds would be MUCH messier.

If your long-lost pet pigeon had landed on me, I'd have taken him home and set up a nice roost for him. I'd welcome him.

I don't think there's a better bird to have as a pet than a dove or a pigeon. They're neat, quiet, and incapable of doing you any harm. And when they are comfortable with you, they show considerably more personality than you might imagine. All the ones I've dealt with were very entertaining characters. Not brilliant, admittedly, but certainly entertaining in their own quiet way.

CJ

Posted: 5/4/2004 5:09:50 PM EDT

[#14]

Oh man.... there's coffee all over my keyboard/monitor/desk now...
Bu tit was worth it!

Posted: 5/4/2004 5:10:38 PM EDT

[#15]

LT....it must be love, it IS mating season afterr all....

Posted: 5/4/2004 5:11:10 PM EDT

[#16]

Why did you try to shoo it away? that would be cool before, just chilling there with a bird on your shoulder...

Posted: 5/4/2004 5:13:51 PM EDT

[#17]

Was there a big fat old guy named Al standing in a doorway? If yes, they removed phone booths a long timee ago! Run straight for the Diner and stay away from the gas station!

Posted: 5/4/2004 5:40:48 PM EDT

[#18]

Y'know, had you had enough composure to chill out and let the bird perch on your shoulder, you coulda walked around and used it as an icebreaker for those texas women that have been so elusive. So what if your shirt gets crapped on? You were on your way home anyway.

Posted: 5/4/2004 5:56:40 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
I was downtown Dallas waiting for my train ride home. Sitting on a bench enjoying a nice day and sunshine. Headphones on and listening to some tunes. I had my legs crossed at the time when this pigeon decides to use my thigh as a perch. Now this takes me by suprise so I jump!!! Well the damn bird must've gotten startled as well. Cause it started digging its claws into my thigh, and hanging on for dear life, just a flapping its wings. Finally it flys away a few feet.

Not wanting for this now pissed off bird to shit on me, I move. Moving target is good. The stupid bird flies by my feet and is now walking with me likes its my damn dog or something. A few of the people waiting for the train with me are now intrigued by this and is watching what happens closely.

So I stop. This bird now flys onto my right shoulder and perches himself there. This is just great. Now I look like a fucking pirate with a bird on my shoulder, waiting for a train. Anyone ever seen a Filipino pirate before?? I sure have not. Now folks around me are starting to make comments about my new found pet.

Well I gently shoo him away. Which worked for about 2 seconds. The amount of time it took him to fly to my other shoulder. At this point I am getting annoyed and a bit scared the damn bird will shit on my shirt. He never tried to peck my eye out or anything like that. Just sat on my shoulder. Some of the folks around me are now chuckling. So I shoo him away again and start walking toward another bench. The bird flies away.

I shit down and who sits next to me?!?!? The fucking bird!!! There he sat to keep me company, bobbing his head, walking up and down the bench, till I got on the train.

This is just weird. A bird tried to make friends with me. What next???

I think you have attracted a gay bird. You know what they say. "Birds of a feather -----------------"

Only joking. Gave me a good laugh.

Posted: 5/4/2004 5:58:23 PM EDT

[#20]

I never thought about it being a pick up tool.

I was really just worried it would start pecking at my ear or start shitting on the back of my shirt.

If it happens again tomorrow on my way home, I will just chill with the bird on my shoulder. However, if it shits on me, you guys will be seeing a cool dinner pic.

Posted: 5/4/2004 6:04:57 PM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
Doves and pigeons nasty?

Hah!

I've had them for pets and raised them from almost the day they hatched. I've had two doves that had the freedom to fly around the house and screened in back patio at will. I assure you, they are NOT messy birds if you're dealing with just one or two of them at once. They're CONSIDERABLY cleaner and less messy than ANY comparably sized bird in the parrot family, and much more mild in temperament as well. A dove or pigeon couldn't hurt you if it tried really hard, but parrots....well, I have reservations about messing with birds that have BOLT CUTTERS on their faces.

Anyone who believes that doves and pigeons are messy birds doesn't know what he's talking about. The only reason they're messy is because you usually find so many pigeons at once. A comparably sized flock of parrots or many other birds would be MUCH messier.

If your long-lost pet pigeon had landed on me, I'd have taken him home and set up a nice roost for him. I'd welcome him.

I don't think there's a better bird to have as a pet than a dove or a pigeon. They're neat, quiet, and incapable of doing you any harm. And when they are comfortable with you, they show considerably more personality than you might imagine. All the ones I've dealt with were very entertaining characters. Not brilliant, admittedly, but certainly entertaining in their own quiet way.

CJ

What I mean is the amount of shit they drop. They always seem to hang out in groups and make a mess with crap. I just don't like 'em. The noises they make in the morning drive me crazy, lol. No offense, I just prefer small finches or sparrows as far as common city birds are concerned.

Posted: 5/4/2004 6:11:05 PM EDT

[#22]

I am indebted to pigeons, in particular columba Livia. As a graduate student it was my job to feed them, observe, record, and analyze their foraging patterns, and then write it the results in an article. That article got me my first job at a University teaching behavioral science.

I love pigeons.

Posted: 5/4/2004 6:33:30 PM EDT

[#23]

They're rats with wings.

Posted: 5/4/2004 6:57:08 PM EDT

[#24]

Take it in context. If you're looking at a few hundred pushy city pigeons roosting on your car and walking around underfoot in search of a cracker, yeah, they're winged rats...but still better looking than most rats, and they can't have rabies or bite you.

Get to know a pigeon or dove and you'll probably change your tune. They're very cool pets, and a good specimen is a beautiful bird indeed.

Posted: 5/4/2004 7:00:38 PM EDT

[#25]

It was probably a domestic pigeon. Pigeons give me a wide berth.

Posted: 5/4/2004 7:19:54 PM EDT

[#26]

Here's another funny thing with me and birds. Every place I have lived in, had a tree outside of it. Even the barrack in the military. And every single time its had an owl living in that tree. Even the apartment I live at now. There is a tree right outside my bedroom window. I can hear the owl at night.

I'm starting to think this is a sign of some sort.

Posted: 5/4/2004 7:23:14 PM EDT

[#27]

Do you know what American Indians think and say about owls?

I recommend you look it up. It's pretty interesting.

Owls are great. Love having them around.

CJ

Posted: 5/4/2004 7:24:16 PM EDT

[#28]

Yep. Keeps down the mice. Owls are cool (no pun intended).

Posted: 5/4/2004 7:30:59 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
Do you know what American Indians think and say about owls?

I recommend you look it up. It's pretty interesting.

Owls are great. Love having them around.

CJ

When I was living in Lake Forest CA, I saw the owl on our patio wall. Was just sitting there still. I thought it was something stuff owl my roommate bought. She was always buying offbeat stuff like that. So I go to try and touch it. This owl opened up its wings and sorta hissed at me. I ran inside a locked the sliding glass door.

I don't think owls are very nice.

Posted: 5/4/2004 7:34:12 PM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Do you know what American Indians think and say about owls?

I recommend you look it up. It's pretty interesting.

Owls are great. Love having them around.

CJ

When I was living in Lake Forest CA, I saw the owl on our patio wall. Was just sitting there still. I thought it was something stuff owl my roommate bought. She was always buying offbeat stuff like that. So I go to try and touch it. This owl opened up its wings and sorta hissed at me. I ran inside a locked the sliding glass door.

I don't think owls are very nice.

Posted: 5/4/2004 7:35:32 PM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Do you know what American Indians think and say about owls?

I recommend you look it up. It's pretty interesting.

Owls are great. Love having them around.

CJ

When I was living in Lake Forest CA, I saw the owl on our patio wall. Was just sitting there still. I thought it was something stuff owl my roommate bought. She was always buying offbeat stuff like that. So I go to try and touch it. This owl opened up its wings and sorta hissed at me. I ran inside a locked the sliding glass door.

I don't think owls are very nice.

LT, you're killing me!!!!

Posted: 5/4/2004 7:37:24 PM EDT

[#32]

Where's your friendly neighborhood falcon when ya need him?

Yo, yo fries are done...

Posted: 5/4/2004 7:48:25 PM EDT

[#33]

When I was at 29 Palms for comm school, my buddy and I were walking down the hill from the MCCES barracks to the E-Club when we heard this whoooosh noise and looked up. There was a gigantic owl --I'm talking eight foot wingspan-- landing on the top of a telephone pole right over our heads. It was really light grey and just kind of groomed itself and stared down at us while we stared up at him (her?).

It was a very cool thing: one of those quiet moments you sometimes get in the midst of a lot of people, just about twilight, a cool breeze in the desert and this amazing paragon of nature looking down at us with a pair of oddly intelligent looking eyes.

Posted: 5/4/2004 10:52:51 PM EDT

[#34]

Lots of pigeons on campus at Berkeley. They're really bold. I've had one steal fries from the table I was sitting at, not 3 feet in front of me....

Then, one day I tried kicking one. I managed to make contact, and the flying rat went straight into the side of a trashcan.... they all avoided me from that day on...

Posted: 5/4/2004 11:00:00 PM EDT

[#35]

It was a spy sent by Saruman.

Posted: 5/4/2004 11:45:08 PM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:
Lots of pigeons on campus at Berkeley. They're really bold. I've had one steal fries from the table I was sitting at, not 3 feet in front of me....

Then, one day I tried kicking one. I managed to make contact, and the flying rat went straight into the side of a trashcan.... they all avoided me from that day on...

! that some funny shit

Posted: 5/5/2004 7:08:25 AM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:
Do you know what American Indians think and say about owls?
I recommend you look it up. It's pretty interesting.
Owls are great. Love having them around.
CJ

Well, I couldn't resist. Here's some results...

Looks like your maybe gonna die, LT.

Owls in American Indian Culture
Among the different American Indian tribes, there are many diverse beliefs regarding the Owl. Presented here are some of those beliefs.

To an Apache Indian, dreaming of an Owl signified approaching death.

Cherokee shamans valued Eastern Screech-Owls as consultants as the owls could bring on sickness as punishment.

The Cree people believed Boreal Owl whistles were summons from the spirits. If a person answered with a similar whistle and did not hear a response, then he would soon die.

The Dakota Hidatsa Indians saw the Burrowing Owl as a protective spirit for brave warriors.

The Hopis Indians see the Burrowing Owl as their god of the dead, the guardian of fires and tender of all underground things, including seed germination. Their name for the Burrowing Owl is Ko'ko, which means "Watcher of the dark" They also believed that the Great Horned Owl helped their Peaches grow.

The Inuit believed that the Short-eared Owl was once a young girl who was magically transformed into an Owl with a long beak. But the Owl became frightened and flew into the side of a house, flattening its face and beak.
They also named the Boreal Owl "the blind one", because of its tameness during daylight. Inuit children make pets of Boreal Owls.

Native Northwest coast Kwagulth people believed that owls represented both a deceased person and their newly-released soul.

The Kwakiutl Indians were convinced that Owls were the souls of people and should therefore not be harmed, for when an Owl was killed the person to whom the soul belonged would also die.

The Lenape Indians believed that if they dreamt of an Owl it would become their guardian.

The Menominee people believed that day and night were created after a talking contest between a Saw-whet Owl (Totoba) and a rabbit (Wabus). The rabbit won and selected daylight, but allowed night time as a benefit to the vanquished Owl.

The Montagnais people of Quebec believed that the Saw-whet Owl was once the largest Owl in the world and was very proud of its voice. After the Owl attempted to imitate the roar of a waterfall, the Great Spirit humiliated the Saw-whet Owl by turning it into a tiny Owl with a song that sounds like dripping water.

To the Mojave Indians of Arizona, one would become an Owl after death, this being and interim stage before becoming a water beetle, and ultimately pure air.

According to Navajo legend, the creator, Nayenezgani, told the Owl after creating it "...in days to come, men will listen to your voice to know what will be their future"

California Newuks believed that after death, the brave and virtuous became Great Horned Owls. The wicked, however, were doomed to become Barn Owls.

In the Sierras, native peoples believed the Great Horned Owl captured the souls of the dead and carried them to the underworld.

The Tlingit Indian warriors had great faith in the Owl; they would rush into battle hooting like Owls to give themselves confidence, and to strike fear into their enemies.

A Zuni legend tells of how the Burrowing Owl got its speckled plumage: the Owls spilled white foam on themselves during a ceremonial dance because they were laughing at a coyote that was trying to join the dance. Zuni mothers place an Owl feather next to a baby to help it sleep.

Posted: 5/5/2004 4:12:36 PM EDT

[#38]

Thanks for the post Leisure_Shoot. I was gonna wait till the weekend to look it up. Seems owls are mostly related to death. Hmmm.....

BTW, no pigeon encounter on the way home today.