Last weekend we enjoyed a rather hot spell with the mercury soaring past the old 100°F mark and beyond. And while it meant more time looking for shade to relieve some of our discomfort it seemed that our local pigeons were feeling the same way.

These two chicks were tucked away under the Ceanothus bush with their ever-vigilant mother on guard. In fact, if it wasn’t for their mother I wouldn’t have seen them but she decided that walking past was far too close for her comfort levels. She flew out of the bush madly flapping her wings and then proceeded to offer some awkward dancing at a distance. The whole performance smacked of a B-grade movie – and a poor one at that.

Curious to know what she was hiding (yes, my investigative prowess figured out she was trying to throw me off the path) I peeled back some of the foliage to find these two delightful, yet very hot, bronzewing pigeon chicks nestled in close to the trunk.

They didn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to move even though their mother had now abandoned them. Maybe she figured that it was better off for the chicks if she left them although I’m not sure you would find that tip in a Parenting 101 guide.

They stayed put for most of the weekend until mum came back late Sunday evening and escorted them off to safety. Finally I could continue the garden watering regime without fear of upsetting these chicks and would no longer have to field “Can we pick them up, Dad?” questions from the children.
Who knows, maybe we will see them back here as adults one day!