Pigeons of Seattle

Photos and stories from two pigeon watchers in Seattle

[pigeonsofseattle]

[pigeonsofseattle]

[pigeonsofseattle]

Nice leg feathers

[pigeonsofseattle]

[pigeonsofseattle]

[pigeonsofseattle]

Another Bellamina sighting! I've been seeing them and Halla around lately so it's good to know they're doing well.

[pigeonsofseattle]

When I first saw this pigeon, I thought they were my long lost Talvi. Unfortunately the white markings didn’t match up and they’re a completely different pigeon. But I’ve seen them a number of times in the past several months, so I’m going to give them the name Halla.

I’ve also been considering posting full profiles of my named pigeons from around the city. They will include a photo, name, distinguishing features, etc. I’ll try to get started on that soon!

~W

[pigeonsofseattle]

[pigeonsofseattle]

Hello, pigeon people! I am your new admin, K!

I have joined my good friend who started this blog, in order to help bring the Good Birds to the people. Most of my documentation so far has been at one bus stop over time in Ballard, so I have a lot of regulars and favorites!

To start off, here’s some kinda crappy pictures of my favorite bird, and my most intriguing bird. My favorite is this piebald girl here, she’s missing a toe on her left foot, and she’s got some brown on her wings, which I don’t see very often! I don’t have a name for her yet, but I absolutely love her the best. She often comes down first when I feed them!

The other bird is Skinny Mystery Girl, unfortunately this isn’t a terribly clear picture but it’s the only one I managed to get. She’s very timid, often only coming down to eat after a crowd has formed, and she always sticks to the edge of the group. It’s subtle, but there’s something a bit off about her, I can’t quite figure it out. But if I get any updates, you will be the first to know!

Happy Urban Birding!

~ K

[pigeonsofseattle]

One thing I’ve noticed from my years of pigeon watching is that each one tends to keep showing up in the same place. They seem to have favorite spots that they hang around. For instance, I always saw Chu at 3rd and Bell and never anywhere else. So I can usually count on keeping an eye out at specific locations for any pigeons I’ve identified there. But sometimes they just stop appearing in their area. When a pigeon vanishes from their usual spot there’s no telling why, maybe they’ve moved somewhere else or I’ve just had bad luck and keep missing them.

So today I was overjoyed to see an old favorite of mine, a gorgeous white and black pigeon I lovingly call Bellamina. They would show up on this one side of the same block on Seneca. This shot of them was taken almost exactly a year ago, on April 29th:

Since Bellamina is one of the most beautiful pigeons I’ve ever seen, with the pure white feathers and nice patterns of dark patches (especially around the eyes! wow!), I felt absolutely blessed to encounter them again. I didn’t want to lose this one completely.

[pigeonsofseattle]

Lately I’ve been seeing these two leucistics in the exact same spot on different days. I hardly ever see mostly white pigeons, but they’re absolutely beautiful.

[pigeonsofseattle]

Old photo of my girl Chu

[pigeonsofseattle]

[pigeonsofseattle]

[pigeonsofseattle]

Another lucky find yesterday! I spotted these guys from across the street and I risked missing my bus to go and take photos! The first one is new but the other is the same gray leucistic from the other day, same place as last time. Think I’m gonna call them Nivos.

[pigeonsofseattle]

I was really excited today to encounter a little group with three unique pigeons! If I see them again I might give them names, but I’m especially fascinated with the leucistic one and may just go ahead and name them.

I’ve never seen a leucistic pigeon with a gray tone like that, it was absolutely beautiful.

[pigeonsofseattle]

Here is Xanthippe, a pigeon who hangs around Seattle Center. My friend was actually the first to find and name him. He’s got a beautiful rich brown and purple color.