Pigeons and Pollinators
Mid-June in the Suburbs
“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawnmower is broken.” – James Dent
‘Burb Birds
I grew up in a city neighborhood that had been built on former farmland in the 1910’s, as I now live in a suburban neighborhood that was a farm divided into lots in the 1950’s. This is the way in the U.S. and I’m sure many of you can say the same. Pigeons were a familiar sight when I was a kid. They nested in the eaves of our house when they could get away with it; their particular cooing sound, a throaty warble followed by ruffling feathers, often heard through the second story walls.
It occurred to me recently that I hadn’t seen a pigeon around here in many years, a decade at least. So many mourning doves, their round middles and small bobbing heads and hooting coos and slow hefting flights to the lowest tree boughs. (Our 10-year-old calls them the “chickens of the suburbs.” But, like, we don’t eat them or their eggs.) Not a single pigeon (or more romantic-sounding: rock dove) to be found.
But then, we now see hawks and eagles as a matter of course, flying overhead on our neighborhood walks or even perched on the backyard fence; birds I never saw over our city backyard, in the hours I spent looking at the sky, not far from where I now live. Did the local pigeons’ disappearance have something to do with the return of the birds of prey? After all, during the few recent years when we heard owls here, the population of skunks and rodents dropped noticeably. Now the owls have moved on.
My place of work is a couple blocks from my childhood home, and two days ago I watched from the corner of the parking lot as that house got bulldozed and demolished. The strange timing of a Monday morning. So now the eaves that housed the pigeons are gone too. That whole block is likely to become a parking lot, so who knows…maybe someday the pigeons will return. I think pavement is their native habitat.
Beekeeping Update
I’m pleased to report that our new honeybees have stopped being little jerks. We think they may have just been hot, thirsty, and cranky for the first while. We’ve provided drinking water and extra space in the hive, and they seem to have settled in nicely now. No more chasing us across the yard or buzzing back and forth in our faces as if to tell us off. They do seem sassier than last years’ hives, but they’re also harder working.
They love the raspberry patch, and are humming happily along next to the bumblebees, native green bees, and hoverflies. There seems to be friendly competition or cooperation among the pollinators; the bumbles appear to have upped their game even, flying a bit faster and with more purpose.
Garden Update
Here’s what’s fruiting currently: strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, peaches, cherries, radishes (or is it beets?)
What’s growing well: squash, pumpkin, gourd, potato & pepper plants; greens like delicious arugula; chives; onions & garlic; grapevines; basil.
What’s not doing so great so far: corn, quinoa, peas, green beans, sweet peppers, some herbs. The bunnies have been getting in somewhere, despite the fence repairs, and biting off the tops of the seedlings as they emerge. And some seeds appear to have been duds. Ah well, we shall replant and harvest what we can.
Yes, I know it’s not yet the Solstice, so we’re technically in Spring, but it got to a scorching 98 degrees Fahrenheit today (that’s around 37 Celsius), which is not typical for our area in June. We woke extra early this morning in order to give all the plants a good soaking before the heat wave. And our old air conditioner appears to be working okay for now, so that’s a relief. Hat’s off to those of you who live through this level of heat and worse for much of the year!
How is your June garden growing? What wildlife do you love to see, and which critters or garden pests would you fail to mourn if they disappeared? Let me know in the comments, or by replying to this email— I love to talk with fellow gardeners and nature-lovers.
—Erin, in Michigan
Yeah… Where are the pidgins…? So you stood witness to the Demi’s of the “old house” eh? Well, thanks for holding vigil.
Sure, it seemed only right. The lot looked so small, just wide enough for the bulldozer with little margin. I guess it was always larger going back, but in my memory it was a big house & yard.