Saturday, February 14, 2009

Pigeon Scare

Dad loves pigeons. They make nests in our balcony frequently to incubate their eggs. We have strict instructions not to touch the eggs lest the mother should abandon them. When we open the door to our balcony, the creaking door gives the pigeons a warning, and they all fly away immediately.

Right now their nest is under a sink in our balcony, in the dish-washing area, and you can hardly see the pigeons there. So it is a sort of a cube shaped home, open from the front, covered above and on the sides by marble.

I completely forgot about them, and walked up to fetch a bucket from near the sink. My sister watched from a distance. There was one pigeon inside, sitting on the eggs, I still didn’t realize this. I got so close to the pigeon; it was just about an inch away from me. They are scared of me, and I am scared of everything. The pigeon desperately wanting to fly out started flapping its wings vigorously in that small area. I was caught unawares, and I turned around to run and somehow it got somewhere between my knees in all this confusion. (I know, YUCK!) I was running with the pigeon between my knees and I screamed so loud that all the passers by on the street stopped and stared. I kept screaming, my sister fled from the scene, and somehow after a few seconds, the bird made its way out. Phew! My poor grandmother (now not in very good health) was terrified inside with all the screaming until she saw my sis and I roll on the floor laughing!!!

Being too scared never helps I guess. I should have just moved aside and let it fly away. Just checked the sink, and the bird has returned to its nest. Its sitting on one egg, while the other has fallen out – courtesy my stupidity!