Brave Irina

Irina commutes a long ways to the Coliseum BART Station every day on her way to and from work. Along the way, she feeds the pigeons. One pigeon, who she named Chernish (pronounced Chair-neesh, Russian for Blackie), was hobbled by string tangled around and cutting into its feet. Irina started contacting animal agencies for help. Most said there was nothing they could do to help a pigeon. One said that if she caught it and brought it in, they would help. Irina tried to coax it within reach and, while Chernish would come close to eat the food, she would not come close enough to be caught. Irina brought a cat carrier and tried to lure Chernish into it with a trail of food. Another pigeon put a foot on the threshold but Chernish avoided it.

When Irina contacted Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue, a nonprofit, entirely volunteer-run parrot rescue organization, Nancy, the Operations Manager posted to the group's members asking for help with catching the injured pigeon. When no one else was available, Nancy took one of her oil-spill bird rescue nets and went to the BART station to meet Irina and try to catch Chernish.

Despite their best efforts, they couldn't catch her. Chernish showed up as soon as Irina did but she took off every time anything unusual happened- like when Irina reached for a net or when Nancy approached. After that effort, Nancy left the net with Irina so that she could continue trying and, despite the fact that the net is over 8 feet long, Irina commuted to and from work toting it and her cat carrier on the crowded rush-hour trains.

Friday, I made plans to meet Irina at the BART station the next morning to try again. I told her that we would do our best but that feral pigeons are VERY hard to catch and that our chances weren't very good. I have a collection of nets but didn't think any of them would be any more useful than the one Irina had been (amazingly) commuting with. I went to the fabric store to see if I could buy netting material to make something like a mist nest with the hopes that if the bird walked on it, we might be able to entangle it enough to slow it down enough to catch it.

The only thing the fabric store had other than tulle (with it's too fine a weave) was bright red fishnet fabric. The clerk was surprised when I bought it. I didn't tell him what it was for. I ended up knotting metal washers along the edges so I could also use it as a throw-net. It laid flat and wasn't very tangle-y, not at all mist-net like, and I've never thrown a throw-net so it seemed like a pretty wasted effort. I could have practiced on my king pigeons but that seemed mean and distrust-building so I didn't.

I felt idiotic the moment I pulled up to the BART stop. Even though it was 9 am on a Saturday, there were still more people there than I wanted to make a fool of myself in front of. Oh well. Irina showed up a minute later and then so did Chernish. The spot that she fed her in was perfect- a deep corner backed by high walls, so we had a slight chance.

Chernish had come down to eat when Irina showed up but flew off when I approached her. We huddled at a distance to game plan and I offered my pigeon-catching tips: move fast; don't hesitate at the last second, just rush through; and hold tight- they are surprisingly strong and will squirm and twist like crazy to get away. I told Irina I'd be there right with her, as soon as she made her move. I asked Irina if she thought Chernish would walk across the bright red throw-net if we laid it out and she said, no. She was probably wondering why the hell it was bright red but was too nice to ask. I gave her a more maneuverable hand-net to try and backed off to my spot.

Irina went to their spot, put more food out and spoke softly to Chernish and a couple of other pigeons who had returned to the food immediately. As the bird ate, Irina would slowly inch her hand towards the hand net but, as soon as she touched it, Chernish would fly off. Every time.

At one point, I made a rush in with bare hands and actually touched the bird but didn't catch it. Irina was stricken and afraid Chernish wouldn't come back (so was I) but when I backed off, the bird returned. Irina couldn't quite bring herself to pounce on the poor bird and her slow efforts always worked only up until the point at which Chernish flew off.

I decided to try again but with the bright red, fishnet throw-net this time. Amazingly, it worked. I got close and crowded the birds as close to the corner as I could and then rushed in throwing the crazy, bright red, fishnet net up and over them and then jumping into the middle of it all. I had caught Chernish in midair and she fought like crazy to get away and almost did but Irina was right there with the cat carrier and we got Chernish in. We were all amazed.

I drove Irina home and we cut the string that was hobbling the poor bird's legs together. We left the real work of picking all the threads and fibers out of the wounds for my friend and pigeon expert Dan to handle. I picked up the Mickaboo net that Irina had been schlepping around and could barely fit it in my car. Irina had called me brave when I pounced on the pigeon but she was the brave one. I've done (and continue to do) plenty of wacky things but I wouldn't have the nerve to commute on BART with that net. Irina's also generous. She made a donation to Mickaboo on Chernish's behalf. Many people don't.

Chernish is recovering well at Dan's and will have the chance of living with his flock in the indoor loft or flying free if she chooses. The pigeon door is always open. Most of his guests choose to stay, probably because of the gourmet, organic, all-you-can-eat pigeon grains, legumes, seeds and veggies, the on-site medical care and the maid service. It's a sweet deal.

UPDATE: Chernish has chosen to stay in the loft and has recovered well. He's not yet committed to a mate (yes, as Irina originally thought, Chernish is a he) but he is watching a couple of adolescent hens with interest.