aveschapinas Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Hey WhatBirders! I've been hoping we'd get back online so you can help me. This handsome fellow (lady?) has decided to be my roommate, it seems. A few days ago I put some homemade granola on my wooden hanging platform feeder where I occasionally put scraps and stuff (it doesn't see a lot of action). The raisins I used for that batch of granola were all sandy and gritty and I wasn't eating it. Well, my new buddy has been hanging around every day and sleeping on the platform at night. It's not concerned by my presence - I can walk around, tend the garden, etc. and it stays there. It won't take food directly from me and flies a few yards away if I reach out towards it. It must be a domestic of some sort, right? My question is if it's OK to just keep leaving out food and water and let him live on my terrace. Does he need shelter at night? I do have an old parakeet cage I put out but I honestly don't know if he can even fit through the door if he was so inclined. Does he need some kind of box or other sleeping shelter? (Maybe not, since he hasn't decided to try to sleep under the eaves or in another potected place?) The feeder is under an overhang, although it doesn't rain this time of year. I'm happy to have him hanging around but I'm not prepared to set up a full aviary or dovecote for him. I've left more granola (I make it with oats, which he doesn't seem to eat; chopped peanuts; sunflowers seeds; sesame seeds; raisins; and very small amounts of unrefined cane sugar and cooking oil). I've also left some romaine lettuce and chopped broccoli, celery, and snow peas, and a little piece of banana. And a little bit of parakeet seed. I can get millet and sunflower seeds in the shell (homemade granola is a kind of expensive food for him) but no wild bird food available here. He does leave for short periods, so I guess he´s also foraging elsewhere. Thanks for any help or suggestions! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millipede Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 interesting... yeah, I'd kind of think it could be someone's pet. Do you know anyone in the area with birds? Wouldn't hurt to try and track down an owner. I don't think a little food left out would hurt it and, I wouldn't worry about the shelter. I doubt it would prefer a cage to sitting in a tree or even that platform. Though, I'm not an expert on these... I have had a few pigeons and doves as pets before. rock pigeons I'll often see nesting on flat concrete surfaces under bridges. I think in the wild it would have been under overhangs on cliffs and such? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aveschapinas Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 Thanks! The only person I know with birds nearby lives right under me, but he only has Eurasian Collared Doves. And yes, he does seem to like the platform. I wasn't planning to close the cage, just thought if he's used ot living in one he'd feel more secure that way. It is right under an overhang (extension of the roof) and he clearly likes the spot; he's slept there for at least the past three nights. and he's settled in for tonight too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aveschapinas Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 I'll just add that even though I'm in Guatemala, I'm way up in the mountains, and it does get cold at night this time of year, in the low 20s and occasionally high teens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesome55dove Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 19 minutes ago, Aveschapines said: I'll just add that even though I'm in Guatemala, I'm way up in the mountains, and it does get cold at night this time of year, in the low 20s and occasionally high teens. 20°c, right? or 68°f for folks in the USA. ? Cool looking bird. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 More than likely belongs to someone there. Not a lot of white birds make it in the wild. It will be fine with any kind of seed, sunflower, millet, canary, peanuts, corn, wheat etc. that is, until a predator comes along. Do not put it in a cage unless you close the door. Easy pickings for a hawk or owl. Pigeons live in Alaska, so probably think Guatemala is a paradise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aveschapinas Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 11 minutes ago, lonesome55dove said: 20°c, right? or 68°f for folks in the USA. ? Cool looking bird. ? No, 20°F, -5C to a low of -9C. Daytime gets to low 20s C at the most, fo ra couple of hours. But frost every night from late November - early March. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aveschapinas Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 5 minutes ago, Pigeon said: More than likely belongs to someone there. Not a lot of white birds make it in the wild. It will be fine with any kind of seed, sunflower, millet, canary, peanuts, corn, wheat etc. that is, until a predator comes along. Do not put it in a cage unless you close the door. Easy pickings for a hawk or owl. Pigeons live in Alaska, so probably think Guatemala is a paradise. Thanks! Hopefully not too many predators around I haven't seen anything bigger than Kestrels and Sharp-Shinned Hawks right here near the house. I'll bring the cage in; I'd never shut it up in there, way too small for him! I did check for a leg band, and it doesn't have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesome55dove Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 9 minutes ago, Aveschapines said: No, 20°F, -5C to a low of -9C. Daytime gets to low 20s C at the most, fo ra couple of hours. But frost every night from late November - early March. Danggit! I have new glasses...bifocals with a line...and I guess I literally read between the lines because I thought you said, ''doesn't'' get cold at night. Thanks for answering my silly question! ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aveschapinas Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 LOL! Low 20s C is the hottest it ever gets here; once it nears 80°F we complain about the awful heat. And sometimes it's on the same day as the low 20°s F at night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aveschapinas Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 @Pigeon out of curiosity, do you know what kind it is? And it's albino, right? (Pink eyes and beak, pinkish legs, no visible color on feathers) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Friedman Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Some domestic fowl want to live with me or at least have me build them a coop, but a neighbor is feeding them and I just put a note on a local Facebook group. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Could be just a rock pigeon or could be a racing pigeon, which is one of the domestic breeds, and got lost on a training flight. You might ask around or google to see if there is a club there. Probably NOT an albino. Those are very rare. One of the genetic whites would be my guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 You could knock together a roosting box out of a 1"x6" or 1"x8" piece of lumber; a 6-foot long piece would be more than enough. Just make a box and leave it open on one side and maybe mount it under the eaves several feet from the feeder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyE Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 You could try putting up pictures around your area with information "Found Bird" and see if someone contacts you. If not, looks like you have a new friend. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aveschapinas Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 Thanks all for the ideas. I tried googling and found mostly hotels called Las Palomas ? but found a FB page for a local guy who says he raises messenger pigeons, and wrote to him. Pigeon is on the platform for the night! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDJenkins Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 Can't help with an ID, but years ago a large white pigeon with pink eyes took up residence in our back yard for a couple of weeks. It was maybe twice the size of the pigeons I'm used to seeing (my wife thought it was a chicken at first) , and did have a band. Then one day it was gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aveschapinas Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 It's about the same size as the Rock Doves, maybe a bit heavier in the body, and of course that full tail makes it look bigger. The breeder got back to me, says it's for sure someone's pet, not a breed used for racing. I'm hesitant to put up signs with my contact information but I can ask in the local convenience stores if anyone lost their beloved pet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesome55dove Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 5 hours ago, Aveschapines said: It's about the same size as the Rock Doves, maybe a bit heavier in the body, and of course that full tail makes it look bigger. The breeder got back to me, says it's for sure someone's pet, not a breed used for racing. I'm hesitant to put up signs with my contact information but I can ask in the local convenience stores if anyone lost their beloved pet. I would be hesitant too...do you have a local veterinarian's office or newspaper office that you could use as a ''go-between''...at least until you're sure the correct owner has been found...that way the whole world wouldn't know phone number or address. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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