By Carol Tannenhauser
I have pigeons. They are living 21 stories above the city on a small terrace that I don’t use much in the winter, behind a large urn holding a bare lilac bush, sitting on a small table. It is a very small space that they inhabit — I’m not sure how many there are. Three, at least. Sometimes it’s like a clown car and more stream out.
What are they doing there, and why don’t pigeons fly south like other birds?
First of all, I learned, “when birds migrate during the fall, they’re not looking for warmer weather – they’re looking for food, which New York City is full of,” NYC Park Ranger Adam Rodriguez told WPIX11.
Second, like all true New Yorkers, pigeons like people; you have to on some level to live here. After thousands of years of interaction, they are accustomed to us. “Where there [are] people, there [are] going to be pigeons,” Rodriguez said.
My pigeons fluff up their feathers when they step from behind the urn. “If you’ve ever seen a pigeon or any bird fluffing up, they’re actually increasing the efficiency of their feathers’ insulating abilities,” Rodriguez explained.
Birds also secrete an oil that coats their feathers to keep them warm, and their feet have special scales that protect against the cold. “If all of that isn’t enough to keep a pigeon warm, they can restrict blood flow to any areas of the body that are exposed to the cold,” WPIX11 adds.
What about droppings? There are many, along with loose feathers, and they don’t make me happy. Pigeons have a reputation for being dirty. I read that, very rarely, humans can catch diseases from the dust of pigeon droppings when trying to clean them up. The risk is higher, as is true of everything these days, for people who are immunocompromised.
I’m not sure how I feel about my pigeons. I’ll admit, I was tempted to scatter some seed for them, but resisted, fearing unintended consequences.
Anyone else have pigeons or birds of any kind — and, perhaps, some advice?
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Gregory Andracke does, and sent the following photographs of pigeons and a European starling “outside our building between 86-87 overlooking Broadway looking west,” he wrote.
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They share the city with us, live and let live. The risk is rare of catching anything from them but if you’re worried, maybe use one of those (probably) many masks leftover from COVID days?
I found a lot of dropping on my terrace and I was going to put up pigeon deterrents. Then I discovered 2 babies in a kind poop filled circular nest. I decided to let them be and leave everything as is so as not to disturb them. Come spring, babies grown, I had 2 in deep droppings on the entire terrace and more pigeons coming to roost. It was the most disgusting I have ever had to clean up. Don’t feed them! I put up 3 Mylar strips that flap in the wind. No more pigeons no more poop.
We had dozens because of a neighbor who fed them. They ruined our airconditioners with their droppings and nests. Wrapping the railings with ribbon did the trip, with the occasional scarecrow ( difficult to find in the city).
There are a huge number of pigeons that hang around 96th and Broadway, first at the intersection with the house and also along Broadway to 97th st. Clearly people are leaving seed there every day, and the pigeons have adapted and told their friends about it :). Also, they do have to poop. While it is inadvisable to feed them in this area as they are safer in a park environment, some people seem compelled to do this. There are a few possible solutions (enforcement, feed that renders the pigeon’s infertile) but as far as I can tell nothing has been tried. It is an unfortunate situation all around. I have actually been “tapped” on the cheek by a pigeon that flew by when I tried to cross the street.
If no one feeds them on a block, you don’t have a pigeon problem on that block – I’m sure you see the solution.
That would have to go for all food, including the edible trash that humans throw on the sidewalk, not just seeds that kind people feed the birds with.
More pigeons, less people.
My motto. 🙂
Definitely no bird seed, you will be bombarded with pigeons.
From NYC Health:
“Feed a pigeon, feed a rat.”
And:
“Do not feed birds or other wildlife. If you do, you’re helping to feed rats too.”
I suspect we’ve all been taught at some point to despise pigeons as “flying rodents” who spread disease, & many of us hesitate to encourage them in any way, but the bad press is exaggerated. One of my closest friends married a man who breeds & shows award-winning pigeons & through Andre, I have come to appreciate pigeons much more. They can recognize human faces after as little as a single interaction, & they remember who has been kind to them. So thank you for not harassing the few who have found a winter refuge on your terrace. You do no harm.
I have two cardinals and a couple of blue jays who. Stay all winter. Did you know blue jays like peanuts in the shell. Every morning I put a scoop of seed and a couple of peanuts in my dormant flower box and they come and feast until the pigeons scare them away. Once when I forgot one of them started pecking on the window until I answered
Pigeons are smart, gentle birds that deserve our concern and protection. As for diseases, your human friends and neighbors are much more likely than pigeons to be carrying germs that will make you sick
We had them on our balcony including nests and poops. Kept returning to the same spot so must have been same pair. Finally we put up netting all around and it’s much better and not really noticable.
Get rid of them; disease carriers !
One more things, pet pigeons and racing pigeons were once so popular there was a huge pigeon show and competition (a la Westminster Kennel Club) every year at Madison Square Garden (the old one). I found a beautiful spread in one of my old Harper’s Weekly’s from the turn of the 19th into the 20th century.
Not really. They have lice, but that’s about it. Pigeons are in the same category as doves. Also, they’re really smart. Pigeons have been honored for their military work flying secret messages, and other important carrier pigeon functions. You could stand a history lesson, my friend. From Google — Notable pigeons include GI Joe (WWII), Mary of Exeter (WWII), Mocker (WWI), Paddy (WWII), Commando (WWII), Winkie (WWII), White Vision (WWII), and William of Orange (WWII, and whose flights saved over 2000 lives for the British Army).
Cite your sources please Murray.
My father was a lifelong pigeon fancier and raced homing pigeons from his coop in Brooklyn. His thoroughbred pigeons all had papers describing their lineage. In the war he worked (under Gen. George Patton’s Signal Corps) with heroic pigeons who transported secret messages about observed enemy troop movements. That said, he considered “street” pigeons to be distasteful, like rodents.
morning doves are way more enjoyable than pigeons. I have a bunch on my terrace that get seeds. I control the mess with power washing or hot water when it’s not below freezing.
They can make a pleasant sounds in the summer and totally entertain my 3 cats all day
I’ve had a few pigeons come by but they don’t dominate. and the doves won’t them take over. Occasionally a hawk shows up from riverside park looking for its own meal of a dove and then they all scatter. So far I have not seen one killed on my terrace.
I’ve seen two kestrels (aka sparrow hawks) double-team a finch above my terrace, shaking it to break its neck and dropping the body on the brick floor. When I came out a hour later it was gone; obviously they were waiting for lunchtime to feast on the little bird. Pigeons? I’ve managed to discourage most of them. My bird feeders have tiny perches that sparrows, finches and mourning doves can rest on to eat, but pigeons just flap helplessly trying to grab on. The best they can do is clean up seeds that drop to the terrace floor. Somebody in the neighborhood must be putting out unshelled peanuts for the bluejays because I keep finding the shells in my planters. Grackles, seagulls, hawks, mockingbirds — UWS birds are endlessly diverting. Even saw (and heard) Flaco on the next building a couple of weeks ago!
We had a hawk kill and eat a pigeon on our AC a few years ago. It was a mess to clean. I found it fascinating and disgusting but our cat watched the whole time (hours).
I’m surprised you have pigeons as I did not think they would fly as high as 21 stories. I have a terrace 13 stories up and have in 50 years only once seen a pigeon on my terrace. I did put out bird seeds for several seasons and still did not get them. I do get doves frequently, which can be mistaken for pigeons and coo with the same sound. The doves are harmless and charming.
I rented a place on the 43rd floor once with a small balcony. Pigeons came and courted on it. I was surprised they went so high.
We live at 110th and Broadway and have a growing pigeon problem entirely because of a woman who drives in and drops bags of bird feed multiple times a week on the sidewalk in front of the School at Columbia/H-Mart. We have gone from having a handful of birds on our ledges to hosting a colony of hundreds. Bird droppings are everywhere and the bird feed also attracts rats. We’ve asked her to stop and she refuses. What can be done about this?
I have seen her! The pigeons even know her car (a blue Subaru) and gather to swoop down as soon as she pulls up and double parks. And I 100% agree that the pigeon problem has worsened as a result. Our windows are now streaked with poop and our ledges are covered with it.
There’s also an elderly man that feeds them left over bagels from Absolute up & down Broadway & in front of Ascension Church on a daily basis. I wish the police would ticket him for littering & feeding the rats in the neighborhood.
To put this in a more skeptical perspective, enjoy Tom Lehrer’s classic, “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park.” https://youtu.be/yhuMLpdnOjY?feature=shared
I hear there are more pigeons in NYc than people.
True?
My friend had pigeons nest on her terrace. At first she thought they were cute and “a miracle of nature” and she let them be and tried to shelter them. BE WARNED. When the babies hatched and she tried to use her terrace in the Spring/ Summer, the whole terrace was plagued by some kind of biting mites. Just sitting at her outdoor table, she’d get lots of red bumps. Not sure this is always the case but she has vowed to chase them away if she sees anyone trying to nest again
Rather fond of the pigeons they are very intelligent, nice birds. Perhaps overly eager for food, but then they spend their days looking for something to eat.
I’m still waiting for the city to announce its 10,000 hawk release program. Should help put a significant and much needed dent in both the pigeon and rat population!
All commenters have failed to state it is unwise to domesticate creatures that were born and live in the wild for obvious reasons. Pigeon droppings do carry disease and their feathers often contain mites. And consumption of inappropriate foods, such as bread, interferes with the birds’ ability to secrete the oil referenced in Ms. Tannenhauser’s piece. People who go about the city releasing bags of uncooked rice, bread and so forth, on sidewalks, in the Broadway mall and elsewhere, should suffer serious consequences. They might consider finding ways to help feed hungry or starving men, women and children in the city instead.