Mom, There's A Bird In The Window!

...and so there was!

Around 7p I was outside taking the laundry off of the line when Savannah came to the door yelling "Mom!  Mom!  There's a BIRD in the window!".  I finished up what I was doing before heading back inside.  I wasn't in any rush.  We're surrounded by a variety of birds.  In the early morning hours our yard sounds like a rainforest!

You can imagine my surprise when I came in and found a PIGEON perched on our living room window.  At first I was skeptical as to whether or not it was a pigeon.  I mean, seriously, why would there be a pigeon in our yard - much less in our window?!  My curiosity intensified as I approached the bird and it barely took notice of me.  It could've cared less about the kids chattering or the constant movement coming from within the living room!  When I got upclose to it, I noticed a bracelet around it's leg. That's when I had my doubts about it being a pigeon...because why would anyone tag a pigeon??  I figured it must be some kind of an endangered species, maybe tagged by the local Audubon Society.  I took a photo and a video and posted it online.  Some people thought it was a blackbird while others insisted it was a pigeon. 

I was informed that it was a "homing pigeon".  After a little research I discovered that there are multiple "pigeon clubs" here in RI - one of them right over in N. Smithfield!  Imagine that?  Apparently people breed them and train them as pets.  They're trained to fly back to their home. Bizarre.  I left a few messages at these so called "clubs".  By this time it was 9p.  The pigeon decided it was quite comfortable sitting in the window and so it WENT TO SLEEP!  Apparently it didn't want to go home and all I could think of was what if it's lost or injured or - even worse - thinks that THIS is its home??

Fast forward to 4:00A.  The pigeon was wide awake, making all kinds of (loud) noises and banging its beak against the glass part of the window!! By 4:15A it was making so much noise that both Bella and Sebastian woke up.  I should mention here that Jim was away on business..sleeping peacefully in a hotel...

For almost 3 hours that damn pigeon banged at the window.  I finally climbed up on the couch and sternly told it that it was *not* welcome here for breakfast and it needed to go home.  I cranked the window (slowly) closed until the stubborn bird flew off, leaving behind a disgusting mess..

And people wonder why it is that I don't care much for birds?!

Just when I think I've seen it all - some new creature arrives in our yard!  A couple of weeks ago it was a snapping turtle.  A HUGE snapping turtle that was the size of a CAT!  It just showed up in the backyard, looking like a mimi dinosaur with its huge claws and spikey tail...

We're only in Smithfield but I swear we might as well be living in the wild :)